The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR) revealed the results of a recent study prepared on the implementation of the remote work system in light of the current exceptional circumstances at the Federal Government level. The study was conducted at the level of 53 ministries and federal entities, in which 6327 employees participated, with a questionnaire circulated via the HR Management Information System "Bayanati" and containing 32 questions distributed over a group of topics.
In this regard, HE Aisha Al-Suwaidi, Executive Director of HR Resources Policies Sector at the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources confirmed that the study is part of important steps and procedures taken by the Authority, at the Federal Government level, under the exceptional emergency conditions due to Coronavirus outbreak, especially Organizing the remote work process in emergency cases, to ensure business continuity and provide the best services.
She stated that the study had reached important results that would help the federal entities in general, and the Authority in particular, especially in terms of setting policies, preparing better for the future, and organizing remote work; in order to achieve the best desired results regarding protection of employee health and safety.
HE Aisha Al-Suwaidi said: “The results of the study showed that 91% of Federal Government employees are satisfied with introducing the remote work system under the current situations, and 96% of them confirmed that their entities are implementing remote work system under the current exceptional circumstances, while 92% of respondents said that their tasks are being documented and their accomplishments monitored on a weekly or daily basis, during remote work period.
“The study also showed that 85% of respondents felt that their employers provided the necessary technological requirements for working remotely, and 61% of them confirmed that they did not encounter any difficulties in coping with working remotely.”
92% of employees have their performance documented
According to the results of the study, 92% of the employees have their tasks and achievements monitored on a weekly and daily basis, (50% of participants are documenting their tasks through periodic reports that are shared with the entity’s officials, while 37% of them are doing so through electronic systems.
62% of respondents are female
The study also reveals that 76% of respondents are holders of bachelor's and graduate degrees (master's and doctorate), and that females constitute 62% of the total participants, while 35% work in specialized jobs, and 34% work in executive positions.
73% of employees perform their duties fully remotely
The results indicated that 73% of employees are performing their duties 100 % remotely, while 22% perform remote part-time jobs.
According to the results of the study, 2327 participants are in jobs that do not require providing government services to external customers, but their work requires the use of electronic or smart systems to complete. In contrast, 1959 participants perform jobs that need communicating with customers to provide services through the use of electronic and smart systems, or completing government transactions through service delivery centers, while the jobs of 823 of employees participating in the survey require their physical present at the workplace, to perform tasks that cannot be completed remotely using electronic systems.
90% claimed that their leaderships trust their ability to work remotely
About 90% of the study participants stated that the senior leadership in their entities trusts the employees’ ability to perform the tasks assigned to them satisfactorily during their work remotely, while 83% of them claimed that the customers were satisfied with the services remotely provided by their institutions.
Nearly 45% of respondents saw that their employers have succeeded in converting the services provided to customer into electronic and 100% smart, while 43% believed that more than 80% of services provided by their entities to the customers were transformed into electronic and smart.
Development proposals for remote work system in the Federal Government
During the study, the Authority explored the participants' opinions and suggestions, to develop the remote work system in the Federal Government. Suggestions received in this regard included using electronic and smart systems to monitor and document performance remote work period, reviewing different types of contracts in the Federal Government, and making flexible work options available, to be integrated into HR electronic systems.
participants suggested developing remote work system, in a way that does not contradict with achieving work – life balance for the employees, as well as maintaining their occupational health and safety during remote work period from a distance to ensure their safety and health, and providing technical systems related to Cybersecurity during remote working hours.
The employees participating in the study also suggested creating mechanisms to follow up essential jobs, e.g. supervisory, policy-making, research related jobs. They proposed preparing employees to carry out jobs that require working remotely, and gradually providing remote work opportunities for employees who will retire within 3 to 5 years.