Since the Covid-19 pandemic, companies have been urged to embrace hybrid working, ie, to offer their employees a combination of in-person and remote working. But some are reluctant to do so, fearing that working from home could hinder productivity. And yet, workers feel that they’re much more efficient when they’re not in the office every day.
The figures speak for themselves: 84% of employees say they feel they get more work done in a hybrid/remote setting than in-office/onsite, according to a recent Zoom* global survey. Even more 18-24 year-olds are convinced of the benefits of hybrid working on their productivity (93%), as are 25-34 year-olds (88%). Older workers feel similarly, however, with 80% of working people over 55 believing that they are more productive when they adopt a hybrid work organization.
But this intergenerational enthusiasm for hybrid working is not set in stone. Indeed, 58% of those surveyed believe that their preferences in terms of work organization will evolve over time. Many think they’ll want to work from home more when they have children, so they don’t have to commute to work, or when they’re approaching retirement age.
At present, however, employees around the world are still very keen on remote work. A significant number of them would not consider working in a job that did not offer them a certain degree of organizational freedom. In fact, 36% of those surveyed would look for an employer who gave them the opportunity to work from wherever they wished, if they were to change jobs.
Is this a sign that the office is destined to disappear in the years to come? Not necessarily. A quarter of working people would be prepared to join a company that required them to work in the office, if they were to change jobs. This is because the office is not just a workspace: it’s also a place where people socialize. Interaction with colleagues, and to a lesser extent with managers, remains the main reason why employees like to come to their company’s premises.
However, it would be wrong to say that in-person meetings systematically foster communication within a company. Employees who work exclusively in the office don’t feel any more connected to their colleagues, superiors and, more generally, to any member of their company than those who occasionally work remotely. “[H]ybrid workers feel the most connected in almost every way. Remote work isn’t the instigator of isolation that some make it out to be,” notes the Zoom report. – AFP Relaxnews
*The “Navigating the Future of Work: Global Perspectives on Hybrid Models and Technology” survey was carried out by Reworked,on behalf of Zoom, between April and May among 1,870 employees and 624 employers worldwide.
