Adopted by many companies for several years, and strongly developed with the health crisis, remote work is not without effect on the disparities that exist. Inequalities related to age, socio-professional category or even gender, here is how teleworking deepens them.
Socioprofessional inequalities
While 67% of managers work from home, only 21% of employees and 7% of workers can work from home.
According to a study conducted by the software publisher Oracle in 2021, the practice of teleworking first marks a real split between managers on the one hand and employees, self-employed workers and workers on the other. While 67% of managers work from home, only 21% of employees and 7% of workers can work from home. This social divide also exists among those who are able to telework. They benefit from very different home working conditions. While some have spacious accommodation, with a space dedicated to work and conducive to concentration, others cannot isolate themselves, are distracted by those around them or cannot have a good internet connection. Remote work is therefore an organizational form that seems to grant a privilege to certain social classes.
Generational inequalities
Teleworking also seems to distance generations: while young people (25-34 years old) believe that they can easily work remotely by adapting to technological and organizational tools, older people (50-64 years old) consider this practice with great reservations.
In addition, people over the age of 40 are often subject to constraints, often linked to their rhythmic family life, which younger people do not experience. It is therefore more difficult for them to be completely flexible in terms of work organization, where younger people are often comfortable with the idea of going to the office as needed. Thus, remote work increases the distance that exists between the youngest and the oldest in the professional world.
Territorial inequalities
The spread of remote work has also increased territorial inequalities. While 40% of the professions of inhabitants of the Paris region can be carried out remotely, only 19% of the jobs of inhabitants of rural municipalities can be done remotely.
Gender inequalities with remote work
Women are 1.3 times less likely to have an isolated workspace and are 1.5 times more likely to be interrupted frequently while working from home.
Finally, remote work has also accentuated inequalities between men and women. Indeed, women are more affected by the difficulties caused by the practice of teleworking. According to a study conducted by the international strategy consulting firm Boston Consulting Group, women are 1.3 times less likely to have an isolated workspace and are 1.5 times more likely to be interrupted frequently while working from home.
In addition, they have more sleep disorders, and the risk of them burning out is higher than for men, according to the study. They also feel more isolated and feel more guilty because of a lack of time to care for their children. The psychosocial risks associated with teleworking are therefore greater for women than for men.
Inequalities in sensitivity to psychosocial risks
Individuals are not not all affected in the same way by isolation What does remote work involve. While some see it as a way to be more peaceful and focused, others are demotivated and depressed by loneliness. The most affected by this difficulty are young graduates, for whom the office is often a real space for socialization and a supporting place that allows them to structure their daily lives.
What if m-work could contribute to the reduction of these inequalities?
M-Work is a comprehensive and integrated tool that makes the organization of hybrid work legible, simple and intelligent for companies and their employees. The solution also makes it possible to monitor the employee experience remotely, and to promote social ties with the development of remote working.
