<![CDATA[59% of French employees do not feel that they are listened to by their company.
Hub One, provider of information and communication technology services in professional environments, reveals the results of its study: « The French and well-being in the workplace », conducted by OpinionWay.
With 2017 entering its final quarter and the reform of the French Labour Code a prominent topic of debate, Hub One wanted to understand and analyse the way the French perceive their working environment.
French employees want to be listened to, informed and trained
Asked about the efforts made by companies in favour of their well-being, the majority of French employees judge that more should be done, with 59% of those surveyed criticising the lack of resources dedicated to listening to employees.
On this question, the expectations of employees in France are identical across the regions, with the North-East (64%), the South-West (63%) and the Ile-de-France (62%) shown to be particularly discontented with the resources deployed for hearing what they have to say. Concerning employees in the public sector, they express considerable dissatisfaction and would hope to be listened to more (66%), have more informal moments of team bonding (65%) and see their working environment improved (61%).
In light of these results, it is hardly surprising that 81% of French workers say that they would like to have their voices heard and would therefore be favourable to the setting up of company referenda, as laid out in the rulings aimed at reforming the French Labour Code, and presented by the Government on 31 August of this year.
More than half of French employees (52%) hope to see better circulation of information internally, in particular women (56%), the 35-49 age-group (57-%) and the lower-grade occupational categories (58%). While generally sharing the desire to better listened to and informed, opinion among French employees is divided concerning on-the-job training: almost one in two of the people surveyed (49%) consider that companies allocate sufficient resources in this regard, even if 53% of under-35’s consider these efforts to be inadequate.
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Recognition and involvement as prime motors of motivation for French workers
Today, well-being in the workplace has become a major issue for businesses. French workers expect improvements in their working conditions and the deployment of measures offering recognition for their involvement. Companies therefore need to deploy the necessary tools and resources to attract new talent, but also to retain and motivate their employees.
Globally, the French expect better recognition of the value of their work. Besides the financial aspect, more than one-third of French workers (37%) consider that it is important to give due recognition to employees and their projects on the occasion of internal events, or by means of an internal newsletter; and one-quarter of those surveyed consider the organisation of enterprise challenges to be a motivational lever.
Furthermore, the spirit of initiative and intrapreneurship are popular with the French, with 36% considering that working on an application, a service, a product or an innovation on behalf of their employer is an efficient motivational lever. Intrapreneurship is particularly attractive to young people aged 18-24 (46%), men (41%, against 32% for women) and executives (38%).
Work-life balance and gender equality: values with which the French wish to identify
French people attach a great deal of importance to the societal, social and environmental commitment of their employer. These values help attract and retain employees, since they testify to a healthy social climate in place there.
91% of them consider it to be fundamental that their company should respect their work-life balance, in particular executives (90%), who are often very connected. With this in mind, the « right to disconnection », enshrined in law since the start of 2017, aims to ensure observance of rest and holiday times.
Furthermore, the commitment of companies to gender equality is important to 87% of French people, with women being more sensitive to this topic than men (89% compared to 85%). Employees also encourage companies to commit to other societal values such as the integration of disabled people (86%), and religious neutrality in the workplace (80%).
The CSR commitment of their company is also something to which the French say they are attentive.
83% of them consider it to be important that the company invests in matters of ecology, by putting in place for example selective sorting or a sustainable transport system; and 72% support the idea of a social commitment that may be applied via the implementation of salary-rounding in support of good causes, or donating holiday time.
« This study highlights the capital importance accorded by French people and the employees of the private and public sectors to the societal commitment of companies and administrations. They wish to share their values and express their heightened expectations concerning the quality of their working environment, » declares Patricia Lorreyte, Director of Human Resources and CSR, Hub One: « Well-being in the workplace, far more than just a buzzword topic, contributes considerably to employee motivation, and companies have plenty of room for improvement to meet the needs of their employees. At Hub One, we pay particular attention to the well-being of our employees, and we hope that they share our values. »
Top 5 services and activities in terms of popularity among the French in the workplace
1. Availability of hot or cold drinks (45%)
2. A dedicated space to relax among colleagues (34%)
3. Provision of a company crèche (30%)
4. Individual showers and relaxation sessions (27%)
5. A gym (24%)
Methodology
This study was conducted on 23-24 August 2017 by OpinionWay on a sample of 1018 people representative of the French population, aged 18 or more, via self-administered online questionnaire on the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interview) system. The survey was carried out according to the quotas method, taking account of the following criteria: sex, age, socioprofessional category, region, and size of town/city.
The survey results are available on request.
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