New Wrike Data Finds Workplace Flexibility Imperative to Employee Happiness

Technology is Fueling Workplace Transformation with a Third of US Employees Working in Non-Traditional Office Settings

San Jose, Calif., April 2, 2019 - Wrike, the collaborative work management platform for high-performance teams, today released the third dataset from its Happiness Index, which focuses on workspaces and collaboration habits. According to survey results, the U.S. workplace is transforming, and emerging technologies are likely fueling the transformation. Only 11 percent of employees now work in the once ubiquitous cubicle, and a third (33 percent) work in non-traditional settings, such as a hot desk in a shared space or working remotely. The survey also revealed that 25 percent of employees lack the option to work remotely and that they are 87 percent more likely to be unhappy at work.

“Companies that fail to offer their employees flexibility when it comes to their work schedules are only hurting themselves,” said Megan Barbier, Vice President of People Operations, Wrike. “Giving employees the ability to have a little more control over their day, whether that be through the option to work from home, flex schedules, or unlimited PTO, helps them strike life-work harmony, which will ultimately improve their happiness and boost their productivity. It is a win-win for employees and employers, and companies that do not embrace this shift toward creative schedule solutions are likely to miss out on top talent and revenue.”

The Happiness Index also reveals that less happy workers have negative views of collaboration compared to their happier colleagues, and were 50 percent more likely to say “I avoid collaboration like the plague,” and twice as likely to say “collaboration is a necessary evil.” Conversely, 69 percent of collaborative work management software users love collaborating with remote team members because technology makes it easy and happy employees are 68 percent more likely than unhappy employees to say they think technology has made remote collaboration easier and more enjoyable.

“Creating a positive collaboration experience is a multifaceted effort that includes fostering a culture that embraces collaboration amongst distributed teams and having the right tools in place that ensure collaboration is an easy, transparent and human experience between colleagues,” added Barbier.

Additional Key Findings

• The majority (75 percent) of U.S. employees believe they are “very productive” at work, and happier employees are 36 percent more likely than less happy employees to feel productive.
• Conversely, less than half (49 percent) of employees in the United Kingdom report being “very productive” at work.
• In the U.S., the private office is the most common and happiest workspace, with thirty percent of employees working in a private office and 91 percent of them identifying as either “mostly happy” or “elated” with their jobs.
• Despite the U.S. being responsible for kicking off the open floor plan trend, the U.S. has the fewest employees (25 percent) working in an open floor plan. The U.K. leads in open floor plan adoption with 41 percent of employees working in that type of space, followed by France at 38 percent, and Germany at 36 percent.
• Female respondents prefer written, digital communications more so than male respondents. Men are twice as likely to say they would eliminate instant messaging from their workday, and 30 percent more likely to say they would get rid of email, whereas women are 20 percent more likely to say they would eliminate meetings and conference calls.
• Nearly a third (32 percent) of less happy employees would like to get rid of their manager more so than email, instant messaging, spreadsheets, or meetings/conference calls, making it the number one thing they would like to eliminate from their workday.

Wrike commissioned Atomik Research, an independent creative market research agency, to conduct this survey. Respondents consisted of adults who work full-time for an organization with more than 200 employees. This survey was conducted in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, and resulted in at least 1,000 respondents in each country. Respondents are evenly split between male and female. The margin of error falls within +/- 2 percentage points with a confidence interval of 95 percent.

The complete Wrike Happiness Index will be available in May 2019.