Working at the office during opening hours still dominates, but an agile way of working is underway, according to Randstad’s first-quarter Workmonitor survey released today. Both globally and in the US, 68% of survey respondents stated that they still work in a traditional manner: everyone works at the office during opening hours. India came in at the highest end at 85% and The Netherlands was at the lowest end at 45%.

However, the survey did find a clear shift toward an agile way of working. Forty-four percent of respondents globally — including 43% in the US — stated that the way of working is shifting from traditional (always at the office) to agile (from multiple locations and outside standard opening hours). And 41% globally said they already have an agile way of working and can work from anywhere at any time; in the US, the figure was 36%.

Other results from the survey include:

• Work-life balance: 82% of the global respondents like agile working as it allows them to maintain a good work-life balance and 81% said it improves their productivity, creativity and job satisfaction. On the other hand, 44% indicate that it causes a lot of pressure on their personal life, as they never seem to be “disconnected” from work. Strikingly, 47% of the male respondents have that feeling whereas 40% of the female respondents say they do.
• Work location: 65% of the global respondents prefer to work from home or another location from time to time, and 56% state that their employer provides them with the technological equipment to do so. In addition, 64% of the global respondents say they would prefer to work from home or another location, but they don’t have the possibility to do so in their job. Finally, 59% globally prefer to work at the office; in this respect, India leads with 81% and the Netherlands scores lowest with 47%.
• Personal contact: In order to stay informed and aligned with colleagues, 69% of the global respondents say they regularly have in-person or face-to-face meetings, versus 36% stating they have virtual team meetings via video conferencing.

The Randstad Workmonitor covers 33 countries around the world. The first-quarter study was conducted online from Jan. 10 to Jan. 26. The minimum sample size is 400 interviews per country.