desirable and good for health, it has now become a privilege of executives

Between 2021 and 2023, the share of executives among teleworkers increased from 45% to 61%, while that of intermediate professions lost ten points, from 36% to 26%. It is 12% among employees and only 1% among workers. Some 2.2 million employees in teleworkable positions do not telework but wish to do so, according to the study, which specifies that this pool “is concentrated within professions where the practice of teleworking is most often well established”, such as secretaries, accountants or employees of banks and insurance companies.

Less pressure

In total, a third (34%) of employees want to work remotely, the majority between two and four days a week, with only 8% wanting to do so full time. “Overall, there is a gap between wishes and practice, which already existed in 2021, but it was rather people who wanted […] reduce their amount of teleworking, now they want to do more,” underlined Louis-Alexandre Erb, one of the authors of the study, during a presentation to the press.

“Teleworkers have more autonomy and work less intensely when they are remotely rather than on site,” also notes a second Dares study, based on the responses of more than 38,000 people to a survey. The main location for teleworking is 98% the home, and in only 2% of cases a specific space, for example coworking, and 45% of teleworkers have a room dedicated to teleworking at home.

Compared to working within a collective, remote working reduces interruptions to tasks and the pressure felt, the downsides most often cited being the absence of discussions or support from colleagues, or even the lack of suitable resources made available. In terms of health, the situation has changed radically in just a few years. “Teleworkers had a higher proportion of employees with impaired health, disabilities or a high risk of depression,” recalls the study.

Better health

But in 2023 “teleworkers are generally in better health than other employees who do not practice teleworking, even if they believe that their functions would allow them to do so”. However, women who work remotely have a greater tendency than others to engage in presenteeism, that is to say, not to stop when they are sick, although there is no notable difference. among men depending on whether they telework or not.