Jabra’s report finds that belonging, motivation, productivity, trust, work-life balance, and mental well-being are all positively impacted by increasing employees’ ability to control where and when they work. The report indicates that leaders must find ways to maximise employee autonomy while addressing the social, health and technological barriers associated with hybrid working.
From experiment to status quo
We’re two years into the greatest work experiment of all time. What began as a necessary shift to remote work has evolved into a long-term exploration of hybrid ways of working. Around the world, organizations have been implementing emerging technologies, innovative leadership strategies, and new workspaces, all with the goal of finding a better way of working fit for a highly digital, globalized world. Together, we’ve had the opportunity to completely reinvent how, when, and where we work.
The March 2020 shift to remote working supercharged the digital transition already underway in many organizations. Because of this, most of the work we do has moved almost entirely onto virtual platforms, allowing us to collaborate with one another no matter where we are. It’s also enabled colleagues to remain connected to one another even through the toughest of times.
Mapping hybrid’s uncharted territory
Now, we’re entering the next stage in this hybrid working journey. Employees around the world are experiencing a wholesale evolution in their work identities and the emotional connections they have to colleagues, workspaces, and to work itself. They’re beginning to embark on new journeys – many exploring new jobs and industries altogether – and they’re finding novel ways to organize work around their life.
But with these major changes come new challenges for organizations, leaders, and employees. With two years of constant adaptation to extraordinary societal circumstances, employees are still experiencing a great deal of uncertainty when it comes to their work arrangement; just as they return to the office, they’re sent back to work from home. For some, a return to the home office comes as a welcome relief, while to others it’s a major disappointment. But for the vast majority, the constant uncertainty is beginning to take its toll.
Building a better future
As we enter the third year of this new era of work, we must begin to think about hybrid work differently. We need to start thinking about how to create emotional stability in an otherwise consistently unstable reality.
To better understand how to move forward with hybrid work, we surveyed 2,800 knowledge workers in six key countries to answer three critical questions: How much autonomy should employees have to determine where and when they work? What characterizes our emotional connection to our workspaces? And how can we use technology to rewire our relationships with colleagues for a virtual-first era?