The Avast Business Mobile Workforce Report 2018 shows small business owners what matters most to their employees and how they can create a mutually beneficial work environment that delivers optimal productivity alongside employee wellbeing.

It analyzes data from our original research – a survey of 1,850 small business employees in the US and UK – to determine:

• The pros and cons of having a mobile workforce
• Whether employers can trust their mobile workers
• The impact on productivity in and out of the office
• How small businesses can get the most from their employees
• The value employees place on mobile working

Key findings

Here are some of the insights explored within the full report:

Productivity

The results show that the largest proportion of small business staff we surveyed (38%) are most productive when working from home. One reason for this may be that they are working longer hours than they are supposed to.

In contrast, only 6% see “hot desks” (in case you may not have heard this term, a hot desk is a desk allocated to a worker when required or on a rotating system, rather than belonging to a particular worker) as a productive place to work, whereas 21% work best in a public place like a café or park. So, while hot desks may reduce overhead, it’s possible that any money you save may still be lost through reduced productivity.

Where small business staff are most productive

Stress and anxiety

When working in the office, employees report that stress and anxiety have the biggest impact on their productivity. Although stress has a lesser impact on people when working at home, it is still the second biggest factor affecting productivity.

Stress and anxiety affecting the productivity of small business staff when working in and out of the office

The value of flexible working

12% of workers would choose the option of home-working over a pay raise, even with the option of an increase of 25% or higher.

Pay increase required for small business staff to give up the option of remote working

In fact, 52% of small business staff go as far as to say that they would prefer to take a pay cut than be restricted to an office.

This isn’t as surprising when you consider that the employees from our survey say that the biggest benefits of remote working are that they’re happier (34% of respondents), have a better work/life balance (33%), and enjoy their job (32%).  

This is just a selection of the findings we explore in our report, which also discusses the benefits and downsides of mobile working, cybersecurity implications, and trust.

For an in-depth analysis and clear action points for small business owners and managers, download The Avast Business Mobile Workforce Report 2018.