Globalization Partners has announced the findings of its third annual Global Employee Survey. Focusing on the sentiment of people working on global teams, two thirds (63 percent) of respondents say their companies will make remote work a permanent fixture following the global pandemic.

The 2021 Global Employee Survey, which gathered input from 1,250 employees across 15 countries, revealed that remote working has had a significant positive impact on the employee experience. Eighty-three percent of respondents said they are always (34 percent) or frequently (46 percent) happy in their role at work. In addition, nearly half (48 percent) of employees feel happier about work since working remotely. Exactly half of respondents said that a good work-life balance was a key factor in contributing to their employee experience, with 41 percent saying being part of a team was important.

In addition, the way companies lead through a crisis correlates strongly with employee retention intent. Over half (56 percent) of respondents reported their perception of their company leaders stayed the same or worsened since the outset of the pandemic. However, for the 44 percent that reported an improved perception of company leaders, they plan to stay working at their current company for more than three years.

Other key findings include:

10 percent of workers plan to relocate within the next 12 months to another country after the Covid-19 pandemic, while working for the same company.

58 percent believe team diversity is the top benefit of working in a global team, followed by more creativity (51 percent).

34 percent said their company’s support for remote work exceeded expectations, while 56 percent said it met their expectations.

44 percent plan to stay more than five years at their current company.

“Global teams will continue to grow in diversity as remote working culture embeds itself in the majority of businesses long term,” said Nicole Sahin, CEO and Founder, Globalization Partners. “To succeed in a jobs environment without frontiers and where skilled employees will have greater choice than ever, employers will need to build their global reach, processes, and capabilities. It’s vital to identify the best talent wherever it can be found, and those companies who can build successful international teams will be ideally placed to succeed in the post-pandemic economy.”

The report also highlights that remote working doesn’t necessarily mean “work from anywhere,” with the majority of global employees (68 percent) staying in the same location while working for the same company during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, 22 percent of respondents have relocated locally or plan to, and 17 percent have relocated internationally or plan to. As a result, employers should prepare to support employee mobility to retain their best talent.

“The remote work trend has resulted in many positive benefits but still there are some challenges, particularly with respect to taxes, which have become an area of concern for companies,” said Bob Cahill, CFO, Globalization Partners.  “While there had been somewhat of a lenient approach when employees had to work in different jurisdictions due to travel restrictions, such flexibilities are not permanent.  As companies look to navigate the emerging tax risks as a result of remote working, our solution provides a way to compliantly support talent no matter where they are in the world.”

Survey Methodology
The Globalization Partners 2021 Global Employee Survey was conducted in June 2021 across 1,250 employees in 15 countries. Respondents were located in the UK, Germany, Netherlands, Israel, Dubai, South Africa, Canada, USA, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Singapore, Australia, and Japan. The research cohort consisted of an equal split of male and female respondents, distributed across working age groups in companies of 250+ people. Respondents work remotely to their office and within teams that have offices in multiple countries.