远程办公并不像看起来那么美好
远程办公的上班族似乎获得了很多好处：他们可以避开面对面的闲聊，可以在沙发上办公，不必被困在格子间里，也不必使用办公室的卫生间。但就像玉米糖或翻糖蛋糕一样，远程办公并不像看起来那么美好。
大都会人寿（MetLife）对1,000名全职上班族调查发现，超过一半（55%）远程办公员工对自己的财务状况高度焦虑。这个比例高于有类似感受的完全现场办公或混合办公上班族所占比例（46%）。
远程办公者承受的压力，令他们不堪重负。多数（53%）远程办公者预测，他们的财务状况将很快达到“临界点”。只有41%的混合办公和现场办公上班族有这样的观点。
人们感到焦虑的部分原因在于福利的选择。员工需要决定令人头痛的问题，例如401（k）计划供款金额定为多少，以及哪项医疗保险计划自付额最合理等。大都会人寿发现，与现场办公或混合办公上班族相比，远程办公者因为福利选择承受压力的时间更长。
这可能是因为他们需要自己处理登记事宜，没有人能交流，也没有人能向他们解释这些福利。而在Zoom或Slack上进行这些对话，可能更让人迷惑。许多人对大都会人寿表示，如果他们了解了整个登记过程，他们在财务上就会更有安全感。
Voya运营和理赔高管莫纳·齐尔克在2月告诉《财富》杂志：“在开放登记过程中，员工需要从众多的福利中做出选择，而人们平均只会花17至18分钟时间完成登记。”齐尔克指出，我们通常会用更多时间考虑接下来应该刷哪部剧。
人们担心的另外一个问题是如果经济下行会有什么后果。关于经济动荡和持续裁员的各种消息，令远程办公者担心他们可能成为被裁员的对象：GoodHire的第二份年度《远程办公现状》（State of Remote Work）报告显示，美国78%的上班族担心，如果发生经济衰退，远程办公者更有可能失业。
在邻近偏见依旧存在的职场，他们对于“眼不见，心不念”的担忧并非空穴来风；有60%的管理者对Beautiful. AI表示，如果发生经济衰退，他们会首先解雇远程办公者。但值得注意的是，尽管大型科技公司正在裁员，却有大量职位空缺，而且虽然媒体在热烈讨论这个话题，但并没有明显的迹象表明美国即将迎来裁员潮。
如果发生经济衰退，受影响的远程办公者可能要另谋高就，这取决于他们所在的行业。但即便如此，许多远程办公者通常掌握了目前需求较高的技能，因此即使他们对于裁员的担忧成真，他们依旧可能更容易东山再起。
Lightcast高级经济学家莱拉·奥凯恩告诉《财富》杂志：“他们之所以拥有这些技能，是因为这是他们能够远程办公的基础。作为远程办公者，他们通常需要更加努力地与同事保持沟通和协作。”
即便如此，无论是对福利选择的焦虑还是对被裁员的担忧，都表明在沙发上办公的远程上班族过得并不是那么舒心。（财富中文网）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
远程办公的上班族似乎获得了很多好处：他们可以避开面对面的闲聊，可以在沙发上办公，不必被困在格子间里，也不必使用办公室的卫生间。但就像玉米糖或翻糖蛋糕一样，远程办公并不像看起来那么美好。
大都会人寿（MetLife）对1,000名全职上班族调查发现，超过一半（55%）远程办公员工对自己的财务状况高度焦虑。这个比例高于有类似感受的完全现场办公或混合办公上班族所占比例（46%）。
远程办公者承受的压力，令他们不堪重负。多数（53%）远程办公者预测，他们的财务状况将很快达到“临界点”。只有41%的混合办公和现场办公上班族有这样的观点。
人们感到焦虑的部分原因在于福利的选择。员工需要决定令人头痛的问题，例如401（k）计划供款金额定为多少，以及哪项医疗保险计划自付额最合理等。大都会人寿发现，与现场办公或混合办公上班族相比，远程办公者因为福利选择承受压力的时间更长。
这可能是因为他们需要自己处理登记事宜，没有人能交流，也没有人能向他们解释这些福利。而在Zoom或Slack上进行这些对话，可能更让人迷惑。许多人对大都会人寿表示，如果他们了解了整个登记过程，他们在财务上就会更有安全感。
Voya运营和理赔高管莫纳·齐尔克在2月告诉《财富》杂志：“在开放登记过程中，员工需要从众多的福利中做出选择，而人们平均只会花17至18分钟时间完成登记。”齐尔克指出，我们通常会用更多时间考虑接下来应该刷哪部剧。
人们担心的另外一个问题是如果经济下行会有什么后果。关于经济动荡和持续裁员的各种消息，令远程办公者担心他们可能成为被裁员的对象：GoodHire的第二份年度《远程办公现状》（State of Remote Work）报告显示，美国78%的上班族担心，如果发生经济衰退，远程办公者更有可能失业。
在邻近偏见依旧存在的职场，他们对于“眼不见，心不念”的担忧并非空穴来风；有60%的管理者对Beautiful. AI表示，如果发生经济衰退，他们会首先解雇远程办公者。但值得注意的是，尽管大型科技公司正在裁员，却有大量职位空缺，而且虽然媒体在热烈讨论这个话题，但并没有明显的迹象表明美国即将迎来裁员潮。
如果发生经济衰退，受影响的远程办公者可能要另谋高就，这取决于他们所在的行业。但即便如此，许多远程办公者通常掌握了目前需求较高的技能，因此即使他们对于裁员的担忧成真，他们依旧可能更容易东山再起。
Lightcast高级经济学家莱拉·奥凯恩告诉《财富》杂志：“他们之所以拥有这些技能，是因为这是他们能够远程办公的基础。作为远程办公者，他们通常需要更加努力地与同事保持沟通和协作。”
即便如此，无论是对福利选择的焦虑还是对被裁员的担忧，都表明在沙发上办公的远程上班族过得并不是那么舒心。（财富中文网）
译者：刘进龙
审校：汪皓
Remote workers are more anxious about money than their hybrid or in-office peers.
Remote employees seem to have it made: They can avoid in-person small talk, work from the sofa instead of a cubicle, and skip the office bathroom. But like candy corn or a fondant cake, remote work isn’t always as good as it looks.
More than half (55%) of remote employees are highly anxious about their finances, according to a recent survey conducted by MetLife, which interviewed 1,000 full-time workers. That’s more than fully in-person or hybrid employees, 46% of whom feel similarly.
For remote workers, the stress is becoming too much to handle. A slight majority (53%) predicted they’ll be at a financial “breaking point” soon. Only 41% of hybrid and in-person workers say the same.
Part of the issue is benefit selection, when employees are deciding headache-inducing things like how much to contribute to their 401(k) plan and what health insurance plan has the best deductible. MetLife found that remote workers spend more time stressing about their benefits than their on-site or hybrid peers.
That might be because they’re dealing with enrollment by themselves, without someone to talk to in person who can explain what such benefits mean. Such conversations could be more confusing over Zoom or Slack. Many noted to MetLife that if they understood the whole enrollment process they’d feel more financially secure.
“During open enrollment, employees have to make decisions on a wide range of benefits, yet on average, people spend 17 or 18 minutes going through open enrollment,” Mona Zielke, senior operations and claim executive at Voya told Fortune in February, pointing out that people usually take more time deciding what show to watch.
But they’re also worried about what will happen to them if the economy takes a turn for the worst. Rumblings of economic instability and continuous layoffs have sparked concerns that remote workers will be on the chopping block: 78% of workers in the U.S. fear that remote workers are more likely to lose their jobs if a recession comes, according to GoodHire’s second annual “State of Remote Work” report.
Their concerns about being out of sight, out of mind aren’t coming from nowhere in a workplace where proximity bias still exists; six in 10 managers told Beautiful.AI that they’ll lay off remote workers first in a recession. But it’s worth noting that while layoffs are playing out at big tech companies, job openings are still high, and despite the headlines, there aren’t major signs of mass layoffs coming soon.
If a recession does, hit remote workers will all be in different ships depending on what industry they work in. But even so, many remote employees have the skills that are often in high demand these days, making it slightly easier to find themselves back on their feet if their fears of layoffs are true.
“They have those digital skills as often because that’s what enables them to do their jobs remotely,” Layla O’Kane, senior economist at Lightcast told Fortune. “And they often have to work harder in communication and collaboration because they are working remotely.”
Even so, whether it’s benefit selection or anxieties about impending layoffs, remote workers are squirming a bit on their couches.
