What employers in South Africa get wrong about work from home

South African employers may be trying to get employees back to the office, but many are embracing the idea of hybrid work due to its increased work-life balance.

This is according to PwC’s latest Global Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2024 – African Perspectives report, which surveyed 2,000 respondents from South Africa, Kenya, Morocco and Algeria.

The report showed that 51% of African respondents said that their work can be done from home.

On the hybrid front, 59% of respondents embraced hybrid working models despite many employers’ efforts to bring employees back to the office post-pandemic.

This is not the first report to highlight this trend.

The latest Talent Trends report from professional recruitment firm Michael Page shows that employers are increasingly admitting that flexible work and work-from-home arrangements are core to what employees want from their jobs.

Although pay is the primary reason why 53% of employees said that they would actively job-seek in the next six months, the number of respondents that saw hybrid/flexible working arrangements and flexible working hours as core recruitment requirements increased from 20% in 2023 to 30% in 2024.

PwC said that employers must understand that flexibility helps employees maintain their work-life balance, allowing them to stay motivated and focused at work.

“As more companies ask employees to return to the office (because they consider workers more productive and engaged in the office), this return-to-the-office shift presents a challenge to the idea of flexibility for employers and employees,” said PwC.

The push for greater work flexibility comes amid a tough economic climate for African workers.

The PwC showed that only 29% of African employees can pay their bills monthly, compared to 45% globally.

45% of the African workforce said they have little to nothing left over for savings, holidays and extras.

That said, overall job satisfaction increased among Africa’s workforce from 55% in 2023 to 59% in 2024, with exposure to specialised training being a contributing factor.

On a very positive note, 90% of African respondents feel a sense of confidence in their job security over the next year despite some anxiety relating to the volume and speed of change.

Workers also prioritise skill development opportunities when declining to stay with their current employer (56% compared to 46% globally), with 22% saying performance-based pay would improve their job performance.

However, 65% still feel that they waste time on administrative tasks, which leads to feelings of underutilisation, overload, frustration and inefficiency.

In addition, 57% of African respondents believe that the risks associated with climate change will pose substantial health and safety risks to their jobs – higher than the 44% globally.

“These results tell of an African workforce changing to become more employee-centric. For a large majority of respondents in Africa, the nature of their work impacts their overall happiness,” said Marthle du Plessis, PwC Africa Workforce of the Future Platform Leader.

“We have observed that the risk of burnout is high, with over half of the African workforce reporting significantly increased workloads in the past 12 months.”

`’This surge appears to be driven by a few things, including major changes in daily roles and responsibilities, a need for training on new technologies and structural team changes.”

What employees need

Employees are also heavily scrutinising how well their organisation looks after its people and doing the right thing by society.

Respondents want to work for employers that show that they care and want the organisations they work for to live up to their purpose, values and culture.

“At the heart of it, when employers try to meet employee needs, employees will try to meet
employer needs,” said Dr Dayalan Govender, PwC Africa.

“Employers need to rethink the concept of the traditional employee to attract and retain the skills and talent needed for organisations to succeed in today’s complex environment.”

“To stand out—now and in the future—employers must provide an exceptional life experience with purpose and their people at heart. It will take this to win and retain the best talent.”

Read: What you need to earn to send your kids to the best-performing private schools in South Africa