Opportunities and Risks of Remote Forms of Employment for University Students and Graduates

Abstract

The object of the research is the university students and graduates who are about to enter the labor market or are at the beginning of their career path. The purpose of the research is to determine what factors influence the choice of distance employment by students and graduates and to formulate recommendations for Russian companies on how to implement distance employment for these employees. The authors applied the methods of analysis and synthesis of scientific literature, as well as processed the databases of international companies and Russian Federal State Statistics Service (Rosstat), and conducted a survey of students and graduates in 38 Russian regions, who are to graduate or graduated in the period between 2017 and 2025, using an online questionnaire from February to March 2020. The analysis of the survey results was carried out using the construction of econometric models. According to the research results, the main advantage of distance employment for students and graduates is the ability to independently distribute working hours, and the main disadvantage is the presence of a large number of distractions from everyday life. At the same time, those representatives of the target group who had the experience of remote work are more likely to choose this form of employment in the future. As a result of the study, the degree of influence of distance forms of employment on the labor market of students and graduates of Russian universities was identified and analyzed. For this target group, distance employment has both advantages and serious risks, which makes the topic relevant. From a practical perspective, this study may be useful for HR management experts, as well as university administration officials, since the transfer of employees to remote work allows companies and institutions to continue to function successfully during periods of quarantine and self-isolation.