Romanians, among the most open Europeans to adopt the hybrid way of working, study says

After more than a year of pandemic, the evolution of the economy and social life went through discontinuous periods which led to the disruption of many activities due to quarantines and restrictions imposed by most governments. At European level the intention to spend fell by 15% in 2020 compared to the previous year, a consequence of the suspension of economic activities, the closure of non-essential stores and the restriction of traffic. Bulgarians, Czechs and Romanians show a similar caution in this regard, but the largest decrease is recorded among Italians, their intention to spend more this year decreasing by 40%.

The results are part of the 2021 edition of the pan-European study “L’Observatoire Cetelem de la Consommation” conducted in 15 countries in the European Union, including Romania, on a number of 14,200 respondents. The study aimed to track the impact of the pandemic context on European consumers` behavior and perceptions of the pandemic’s “remote” accelerated lifestyle and its influence on social life.

Although consumption was negatively affected, the intention to save increased by 3 percentage points across Europe. More than half of Europeans say this (54%), Romanians being the most categorical, although the percentage remained constant compared to last year, 69% of Romanians surveyed expressing this intention. But the highest year-on-year growth of savings intetions are also seen among Italians (grow up by 11 pp, up to 51%), followed by the British (grow up by 6 pp, up to 63%) and the French (grow up by 5 pp, up to 40%).

In terms of their purchasing power, 46% of Europeans believe that it has remained stable, an increase of 2 percentage points compared to last year. At the same time, there is an increase of 5 percentage points (37%) in those who say that their purchasing power has decreased in the last year. As for Romanians, the perception that it has deteriorated is among the highest in Europe, with only 21% of Romanians saying that their purchasing power has increased in the last year.

Regarding the opinion about the general situation in their country, the trend is unanimously negative in all 15 participating states, the lowest score from 2015 to date (4.7 points average in Europe in 2021). Romanians remain, as in the previous year, among the most pessimistic Europeans, rating with only 4.2 points out of 10 the situation locally.

Solutions that require distancing are seen as beneficial, but not by everyone and not always

Distance life has become a global reality, which is reflected in both the way we carry out daily activities and interpersonal relationships. But this lifestyle, which has accelerated the adoption of digital solutions as an alternative to the lack or limitation of human interactions, is not universally accepted among Europeans. Although 8 out of 10 believe that distance is now part of their daily life, only 45% really enjoy this new way of life. Romanians are among the most categorical in not showing too much openness to this lifestyle, like the rest of Eastern European countries, looking at it rather as an accumulation of constraints and only 18% of them declare themselves followers of it.

“After more than a year of pandemic it was easy to anticipate a change in behavior, perceptions and life in general for Europeans. This edition of L’Observatoire Cetelem de la Consommation shows that in the opinion of people the limitation of interactions also interferes with the way they conduct their social life. And when we talk about life lived at a distance, including from the point of view of socialization, most alternatives are seen as constraining. In fact, three quarters of Europeans believe that the lack of direct interaction is detrimental to human relations. And Romanians are no exception, being among the most resistant to following this remote lifestyle, 8 out of 10 feeling compelled to adapt to all these changes”, said Miruna Senciuc, CEO of BNP Paribas Personal Finance SA Bucharest Branch.

On the other hand, what is evident in all the countries surveyed is a much greater openness to adopt digital solutions and accept aspects of remote living when discussing their practical and functional side. Thus, when we talk about shopping, managing the budget, carrying out administrative formalities, access to information, cultural consumption and work from home, solving them without the need for physical presence is highly appreciated by Europeans. In contrast, aspects of social and relational life are experiences that people still want to live face to face.

According to L’Observatoire, the remote lifestyle is dominated by mostly negative feelings, almost three quarters of Europeans (73%) define it using at least one negative term. With the exception of Hungary, where the word “danger” was most often mentioned, “loneliness” (43%) is most commonly used in the rest of the countries, as evidenced by the growing distance between people and which was exacerbated by Covid-19. Other commonly used terms are “sadness”, “difficulty” and “fear”. The general perception is that “distance life” is an oxymoron, a form of social and societal regression, a loss of humanity. The French and Romanians (81%) are among the most critical, followed closely by Spanish and Belgians (80%), but also by Italians (79%).

An obvious conclusion of the study is that the way people perceive life at a distance and commit to following it depends on a variety of factors, such as the degree of experience in their use, culture and economic power. Thus, the Nordic countries are much more familiar with such technologies and have a high degree of maturity in their use. The countries of Southern Europe and the Mediterranean, where a less stable economic climate prevails, frequently associate distance solutions with positive terms and consider that they have not used them as often as respondents in many countries. In Eastern European countries, there are mixed opinions and a certain balance between positive and negative about these alternatives. These are countries that already used digital technologies, but have witnessed their fast-growing in recent years.

Work from home, online education and telemedicine – three features of remote lifestyle

Before the pandemic, Romania was among the European countries with the lowest proportion of employees working outside the actual workspace or office. Currently, Romanians are among the most open Europeans to adopt the hybrid way of working (49% vs. the European average 41%) and only 19% would continue to work exclusively from home (vs. the European average of 22%).

Regarding online education, only 23% of Romanians consider that things work well in their country, by far the lowest percentage in Europe (European average 45%). Respondents in Sweden, where this method of education is widespread, are by far the most convinced of its effectiveness (68%), followed by those in the UK (57%) and Spain (51%). On the other hand, among the most critical of how online education works in their country, along with Romanians are Slovaks (31%) and Bulgarians (36%).

The results of the L’Observatoire Cetelem study, 2021 edition, also show that in terms of telemedicine, Romanians are among the most pessimistic about how this service is presented locally. Only 28% of Romanians believe that things are working properly, more reserved than them being Bulgarians (17%) and equally Hungarians (28%). On the other hand, Romanians are among the most enthusiastic about accessing these services, 56% saying that they are interested in trying telemedicine consultations, although they have not had the opportunity so far (vs. 37% European average). This reveals the increased interest of Romanians in access to medical services through telemedicine, but also the great need for information and regulation of this field in our country.