Going back to “the old way” of doing things is no longer an option as we move forward in the hybrid work era, especially after two years of positive outcomes for employees and employers alike. In fact, 62% of employees agree that their ability to work from anywhere impacts whether they stay at or leave a job.
However, with only 1 in 4 employees saying their company is ‘very prepared’ for the future of hybrid work, more needs to be done to embed hybrid work arrangements and reimagine the employee experience. Cisco explore more in this recent research study.
In the two years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic on 11th March 2020, people’s lives have been upended.
Among the many changes has been to the way we work. While initially, many employees were challenged by the sudden shift to hybrid and remote working arrangements, our study shows that two years on, as businesses have pivoted to survive, hybrid work has yielded many positive and lasting benefits for both employers and employees. In fact, this mode of working has become the norm and is set to stay.
Our survey of 28,000 full-time employees across 27 markets reveals that for most, across different generations, gender, and seniority, work performance has improved as well as employees’ well-being, work-life balance, relationships, and even personal confidence.
With the evident benefits of hybrid working, going back to the old ways of doing things is not an option for employees or for those companies serious about competing for the best talent. However, while the vast majority feel hybrid work arrangements have benefitted them, only around one in four employees say their company is ‘very prepared’ for a hybrid work future. It is clear that there is much work still to be done to fully embed hybrid work arrangements and bring employers to the same readiness levels.
Culture will be critical. Three quarters of employees say their company needs to rethink its culture and mindset to make hybrid work truly inclusive. Every aspect of the employee experience must be reimagined, and companies need to understand that employees’ definitions of well-being and work-life balance have fundamentally changed. As a result, there are several key changes employees want to see including even more flexibility and greater emphasis on employee wellness and work-life balance. Our study also finds that there is room to improve communications between senior managers and their teams.
Leaders must acknowledge that a point of no return has been reached and there must be deeper and more concerted investments in culture, communications, technology, workplace policies, and infrastructure to thrive in the new hybrid working future. This study shows that employees don’t want either end of the extremes – to be back in the office or to be working fully remotely – they want a middle ground that offers flexibility to achieve their own personal version of worklife integration that works for them and their employer.
This also means the reasons employees will go to the office in the future will change. Rather than a place of everyday work, it is more likely to become a meeting place for in-person group collaboration and work, where it is required, and for social connection and interaction with colleagues. With this, organizations must rethink how they see their office space, why employees will need it, and how they use it. Hybrid is working for employees and it can work for employers too – how ready are you for a hybrid working future?