PGi Global Telework Survey Reveals Surprising Telecommuting Trends & Worker Demands

 

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:

1. Reduced or eliminated commute times
2. Improved work-life balance
3. Flexible hours
4. Increased productivity
5. 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:

1. Laptop computers
2. Email
3. Virtual private network (VPN) software
4. Unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) software
5. 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
[email protected]

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SOURCE PGi

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