75% of employers in the pharmaceuticals and life sciences say working from home could limit their career prospects
Bioscience Today, took a deep-dive into our report What impact are Reluctant Returners having on the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector? to understand why 75% of employers in pharmaceuticals and life sciences say working from home could limit their career prospects.
In the pharmaceutical and life sciences sector, the office is still very much essential. For workspaces which are made up of laboratories and research and development centres, it's no surprise that the pharma industry is unable to make the jump to fully remote-working. In our report, which included the results of an in-depth survey across nine European countries of 3000 employees and 2750 employers in leadership roles, it was discovered that 75% of employers believed that working from home could limit career prospects.
These findings suggest that whilst employees are supported to effectively work from home, staff are needed in the office for their own development as much as the company’s prospects. When employees were asked what would encourage them back into the office, 71% shared a great interest in flexible starting times, whilst 78% said they were interested in gaining access to training programmes. Based on these figures, it seems employers have misunderstood the priorities of their employees by assuming travel expenses, flexible work times and collaborative working where the key main factors of enticing people back into the office.
Our Chief Operating Officer, Claire Shepherd, expressed that employers need to exhibit opportunities to entice employees back into the office.
“Employees need to be shown that there are clear opportunities for career progression and in-office training programmes if employers hope to encourage staff back to the office to enable cross-discipline collaboration and drive impactful engagement.”
Unispace's research uncovers how to tackle this latest challenge employers are facing. Key insights include work/life balance, salary expectations, bonuses and promotions, commuting, mental and physical wellbeing, lockdown habits, familial responsibilities and most importantly: how employees truly feel about their office design. Read the full report to understand how employers and employees can ensure they are aligned.
