Employees who can flexibly determine their own working hours are more satisfied with their work and have fewer conflicts with their bosses, according to a recent study by the Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW).
One in three employees whose working hours are strictly monitored experiences conflicts with their boss. Only 45 percent of this group are very satisfied with their job. With partial monitoring, the proportion of highly satisfied employees rises to 49 percent, and only 27 percent experience problems with their supervisor. Among employees whose working hours are not monitored, 59 percent are satisfied, and only 13 percent experience conflicts with their supervisors.
Surprisingly, the figures come neither from a study by the trade unions nor from the IT industry association Bitkom, but from the Cologne-based Institute of the German Economy, which is considered to be extremely employer-friendly.
“Trust pays off”
At the same time, according to the study results, direct supervision by superiors has little impact on employees' work pace: Only 2 percent of respondents work faster or slower because their boss is watching. Significantly more relevant to work pace, however, are the work of colleagues (35 percent), demands from target groups such as customers (26 percent), and specified performance goals (18 percent).
As a result, strict employer control leads to lower job satisfaction and more conflict in the workplace. The pace of work does not influence control. IW author Dominik Enste says:
"Some companies still fear losing control through home office or flexible working hours. However, our study clearly shows that there is no reason for this. Trust pays off."
