ATLANTA, June 23, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- PGi (NYSE:
PGI), the world's largest dedicated provider of collaboration
software and services, today released results from its second
annual PGi Global Telework Survey, including the startling
insight that 60 percent of part-time teleworkers worldwide would
resign their current positions to take a similar job at the same
pay if they could work from home full-time.
Knowledge workers, or workers whose main capital is knowledge
and information, in North America
(NA); Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific Japan (APJ)
were surveyed about their physical work locations, technology
preferences and opinions about traditional and flexible work
arrangements. The results showed that knowledge workers are
increasingly moving away from traditional 9-to-5/Monday-Friday
office life:
- 79 percent of respondents indicated that they currently work
outside of their company's offices at least one day per week.
- Of this group of respondents, half said that they want to
telecommute more often in their current roles, with the ideal
frequency being 2-3 days per week.
"PGi's survey findings illustrate a rising, global shift in
knowledge worker demands: let us work flexibly, or we'll go
somewhere that does," said Sean
O'Brien, PGi executive vice president of strategy and
communications. "With constant connectivity through mobile devices,
WiFi and cloud-based communications and collaboration products like
iMeet®, being away from the physical office is no longer a barrier
to successfully getting work done. In fact, the survey reveals that
flexible work offers tangible benefits for both employees and their
employers."
Perceived Perks & Disadvantages of Telework
With an overwhelming majority of surveyed knowledge workers
telecommuting at least one day per week, global respondents also
shared their top five perceived benefits of working outside the
traditional office:
- Reduced or eliminated commute times
- Improved work-life balance
- Flexible hours
- Increased productivity
- Cost savings
Commute Times at the Core of Need to Telework
Thanks to flexible work options, surveyed global teleworkers are
skipping long commutes to the office-- at least part of the week --
and for good reason: 50% of respondents commute for 45 minutes to
over an hour each day. APJ workers have the longest commutes of all
the regions, with 64% of teleworkers reporting commute times of
more than 45 minutes.
Telework Technology Trends
Flexible workers in APJ reported the highest percentage of
company-sponsored Internet connectivity (89%), followed closely by
flexible workers in EMEA (85%). North American workers, however,
are primarily on their own for connectivity outside the office, as
only 15% of flex workers responded that their company issues
employee Internet.
PGi's survey revealed the top five global company-issued
technologies used by flexible workers include:
- Laptop computers
- Email
- Virtual private network (VPN) software
- Unified communications and collaboration (UC&C)
software
- Corporate intranet
"The global survey results support that technology advances and
the rapid consumer adoption of mobile devices are transforming the
way businesses and modern workers function. The notion of working
in an office from 9 to 5 is quickly being replaced by the new
digital workplace, where everything employees need to successfully
do their jobs can be done online from anywhere," said O'Brien.
"With the right programs and technologies in place, companies can
meet the wants and needs of both traditional and remote workers,
boosting their productivity, inspiring loyalty and driving business
growth."
Full survey results are available in the PGi Global Telework
Survey Report at bit.ly/teleworksurvey.
PGi's second annual telecommuting survey, the "PGi Global
Telework Survey," consists of online responses from 2,759 global
PGi customers, categorized as knowledge workers based on their
roles. Questions were distributed and collected
February-May 2015. For complete
survey methodology and results, please email
blakely.thomas-aguilar@pgi.com.
All trademarks referred to in this release are the property
of their respective owners.
About Premiere Global Services, Inc. │ PGi
PGi is the
world's largest dedicated provider of collaboration software and
services. We created iMeet®, an expanding portfolio of
purpose-built applications designed to meet the daily collaboration
and communications needs of business professionals, with solutions
for web, video and audio conferencing, smart calendar management,
webcasting, project management and sales acceleration. PGi's
award-winning unified communications and collaboration (UC&C)
solutions help nearly 50,000 businesses grow faster and operate
more efficiently. To learn more, visit us
at pgi.com.
Statements made in this press release, other than those
concerning historical information, should be considered
forward-looking and subject to various risks and uncertainties,
many of which are beyond our control. Such forward-looking
statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are made based
on management's current expectations or beliefs as well as
assumptions made by, and information currently available to,
management. A variety of factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated in PGi's forward-looking
statements, including, but not limited to, the following factors:
competitive pressures, including pricing pressures; technological
changes and the development of alternatives to our services; market
acceptance of PGi's software-as-a-service, or SaaS solutions,
including our iMeet® and
GlobalMeet® solutions; our ability to attract,
retain and expand the products and services we provide to existing
customers; our ability to establish and maintain strategic reseller
and distribution relationships; risks associated with global
economic or market conditions; price increases from our
telecommunications service providers; service interruptions and
network downtime, including undetected errors or defects in our
software; technological obsolescence and our ability to upgrade our
equipment or increase our network capacity; concerns regarding the
security and privacy of our customers' confidential information;
future write-downs of goodwill or other intangible assets; greater
than anticipated tax and regulatory liabilities; restructuring and
cost reduction initiatives and the market reaction thereto; our
level of indebtedness; risks associated with acquisitions and
divestitures; indemnification claims from the sale of our PGiSend
business; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights,
including possible adverse results of litigation or infringement
claims; regulatory or legislative changes, including further
government regulations applicable to traditional telecommunications
service providers and data privacy; risks associated with
international operations and market expansion, including
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and other factors
described from time to time in our press releases, reports and
other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including but not limited to the "Risk Factors" section of our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2014. All forward-looking statements attributable to us or a person
acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by
these cautionary statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly
update or revise these forward looking statements for any
reason.
Media Contact:
Blakely Thomas-Aguilar
404-262-8429
blakely.thomas-aguilar@pgi.com
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SOURCE PGi