The ability to work anytime, anywhere is key to providing job satisfaction, according to a new report titled “Mobility, Performance and Engagement” from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Aruba, a Hewlett Packard Enterprise company.

Globally, 38 per cent of employees rated mobility as the number one factor, with the UK (43 per cent) scoring this the highest, it said.

Employees in Western countries report themselves to be happier in their jobs, more loyal to their employers and more productive in their work compared to their counterparts in Eastern markets, according to the report.

Based on the self-assessment of 1,865 employees, those in key Western markets especially the US, Germany and the UK consistently rated themselves higher for key performance metrics across loyalty, job satisfaction, productivity and creativity, compared to Eastern markets such as Japan and Singapore.

A number of key trends were identified:
• Loyalty and satisfaction lower in the East: Nearly a third (29 per cent) of US employees consider themselves completely loyal to their employer, closely followed by Germany (27 per cent) and in stark contrast to Japan (5 per cent). US and German employees are also the most satisfied (15 per cent and 10 per cent give themselves a 10/10 score for job satisfaction) compared to just 3 per cent in Japan and 6 per cent in Singapore.

• The west wins the productivity battle: 20 per cent of the US give themselves 10/10, followed by 16 per cent in Germany and 12 per cent in UK. Eastern markets see themselves as less productive with only 5 per cent in Japan and 9 per cent in Singapore awarding themselves top marks.

• Mobile technology uptake higher in the west: Nearly one in five (18 per cent) German respondents regarded their company as a ‘pioneer’ in adopting mobile technology, compared to that of Japan with 7 per cent.

• Rising expectations from the workforce globally: 40 per cent of early adopters of technology (#GenMobile) said they would never work for a company that did not allow them to use their own mobile devices for work, suggesting mobility is playing an increasingly vital factor for attracting talent.

Chris Kozup, vice president of marketing at Aruba, commented: “Companies are only as good as their talent. Looking at these findings, there is a risk of employers missing out on huge talent pools through not addressing mobility in full. The way we work is changing to suit the needs of #GenMobile and if companies do not stay ahead of the curve they may inadvertently be creating less productive working environments that are overlooked by the best candidates.”

When it comes to securing loyalty, the ability to hot desk was seen as paramount by many employees, notably in Singapore (37 per cent), UAE (31 per cent) and the US (34 per cent), while the ability to collaborate with other employees was the number one choice for employees in Germany (43 per cent), France (37 per cent) and Japan (35 per cent).

In each case, mobile technology was a key driver and enabler of these characteristics. Mobile applications for work collaboration were found to be in use at 42 per cent of companies surveyed, while 33 per cent used video calling and 31 per cent were using instant messenger applications.

Besides improved levels of productivity, satisfaction and loyalty, these practices were also found to be resulting in improved work life balance. Again through self-assessment, the US regard themselves as the most balanced workforce, with 16 per cent of employees rating their work-life balance a perfect 10/10, compared to that of Japan and the UAE coming in at 3 per cent and 5 per cent.

Kozup concluded: “To truly win the war for talent, today’s CIO needs to be able to offer a working environment that not only offers support for personal devices, but also incorporates collaborative tools and apps.
 
“It is clear that the freedom to work at a time that is most productive to the employee is crucial, which is why mobility is at the top of their check list. Businesses need to evolve their offering now in order to secure #GenMobile employees before their competitors do. By doing this, the benefits will be long term and employers both East and West can compete on equal footing to attract and keep talent.”

To guide CIOs on how to think about mobile-first working in ways that can positively impact revenue, Aruba has developed a CIO blueprint for creating profitable mobile environments. - TradeArabia News Service