essay on hybrid work the new normal

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The New Normal: How Hybrid Work Actually Works

In this podcast episode, we discuss the effectiveness of communicating in a hybrid work environment.

August 19, 2021

“One of the things I think is really exciting about all this, and perhaps a little bit frightening, is nobody actually knows how to do it. It is not something that we’ve ever done before. And I’ve studied a lot of globally distributed work, and virtual teams, and so forth. But hybrid work is not that and it’s not telecommuting, which we know a bit about. But it’s something that is a mix of these multiple different modes of working,” says Pamela Hinds, Fortinet Founders Chair and professor of management science and engineering at Stanford University.

In this podcast episode, Hinds talks with host and lecturer Matt Abrahams about her research on the effect of technology on teams, teamwork, and innovation by exploring issues of culture, language, identity, and conflict in promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration. “Employees are going to expect flexibility. Organizations are going to need to sustain a higher level of flexibility with regard to when and where people work.”

Listen & Subscribe

Think Fast, Talk Smart is a podcast produced by Stanford Graduate School of Business. Each episode provides concrete, easy-to-implement tools and techniques to help you hone and enhance your communication skills.

Full Transcript

Matt Abrahams: One of the things I love most about hosting this podcast is that I get to ask important questions to really smart people. And today I have a really important question and a really smart guest. So here it goes. Will I ever need to wear pants again to work? Hello, I’m Matt Abrahams and I teach strategic communication at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Welcome to Think Fast, Talk Smart , the podcast.

The pandemic accelerated the existing momentum behind remote work. How will things change as we transition into a hybrid way of working, some at home and some in the office? Today I am super excited to speak with Pamela Hinds. Pam is the Fortinet Founders Chair and professor of management science and engineering at Stanford. And she codirects the Center on Work, Technology, and Organization. Pam’s research looks at the effect of technology on teams, teamwork, and innovation by exploring issues of culture, language, identity, and conflict in promoting knowledge sharing and collaboration.

Welcome, Pam, thanks for being here.

Pamela Hinds: Thank you, it’s great to be here.

Matt Abrahams: Awesome, let’s go ahead and get started. You and others believe that the new normal of work will be hybrid. Can you explain what this looks like from your perspective and what are some of the key tenets to successful hybrid work?

Pamela Hinds: Okay, yeah, quite simply hybrid means that some people will be working at home or in coworking centers and others will be going into the office. And what that looks like we really don’t know yet because it may mean that you’ve got some people that are always in the office, some people always at home. But it may also mean that you’ve got people who were in the office part of the time, and at home part of the time, at coworking centers part of the time. It’s really unclear how it’s all gonna look.

Matt Abrahams: Yeah, and some of that I think it’s exciting. We’ve learned during the pandemic that people can be quite productive working at home, but it also sounds like a whole layer of management and logistics have to be put in place to make this work.

Pamela Hinds: Yeah, absolutely. And you’re right. I mean, most of the evidence is that most people were as or more productive during this sheltering in place experiment that we’ve done globally. And people don’t necessarily want to go back to the office. And I think that it’s gonna be a big recruiting issue for organizations if they don’t offer the kind of flexibility that employees have become accustomed to. So I think you asked what some of the key tenets are, I think flexibility is going to be key.

Employees are going to expect flexibility. Organizations are going to need to sustain a higher level of flexibility with regard to when and where people work. That’s not just where, it’s also going to be when, and I think another tenet is going to be experimentation. One of the things I think is really exciting about all this, and perhaps a little bit frightening, is nobody actually knows how to do it. It is not something that we’ve ever done before. And I’ve studied a lot of globally distributed work, and virtual teams, and so forth. But hybrid work is not that and it’s not telecommuting, which we know a bit about. But it’s something that is a mix of these multiple different modes of working.

And I think organizations are gonna need to do quite a bit of experimentation in order to figure out what works for their organization, for their employees, for their customers, for particular jobs, for particular classes of workers, and so forth.

Matt Abrahams: Yeah, so certainly a lot of flexibility in very specific nuanced approaches that are gonna be required to make hybrid work work. I’m curious, what advantages do you expect and what pitfalls do you foresee with this hybrid way of working?

Pamela Hinds: Yeah, I think that one of the advantages is just the flexibility. I think that employees have become accustomed to having more flexible lives over the last year plus. Although, of course, they couldn’t go many places, so they didn’t have that flexibility.

Matt Abrahams: Right.

Pamela Hinds: But they did have the flexibility to have dinner or lunch with their families, to go walk the dog in the middle of the day, to extend or shorten their workday as needed. So a lot of flexibility in terms of how they were actually working. And that I think, as I said earlier, is going to matter for retention. There’s a lot of evidence right now that employees are considering leaving organizations if they aren’t gonna have the kind of flexibility that they have come to enjoy over the time of the pandemic. There’s also, of course, a number of pitfalls. One of the things that I worry the most about is that people who go into the office are going to have more benefits than those who are not going into the office.

They’re going to have access to more information, they may have access to more mentoring. More access to … the opportunity to connect with a broader set of individuals to develop a stronger identification with the organization, and so forth. And those are the kinds of things that happen when you are in a physical location that has all of those signals and symbols. And when you’re with other people and have the opportunity to run into one another. And those that are working from home, it’s gonna be much tougher to keep them integrated. And it’s been fine during the pandemic because everybody’s been remote. And that’s fine, there are these fully remote organizations and it works fine for them too because, again, nobody’s in the office.

But once you have some in the office and some outside of the office. I think we’re gonna start to see some issues with equity and difficulties in people being able to stay connected and stay coordinated. So that’s one big issue. And then another pitfall is just onboarding. I mean, one of the biggest issues that I’m hearing is that for new employees, people who are new to the organization or new to the profession are having a much harder time figuring out how things get done and learning. Because so much of the learning that takes place is being done at the side of another, more experienced employee.

Matt Abrahams: It strikes me that a lot of what you’re talking about goes back to what you said earlier around experimentation. People are going to have to get very creative because the variables are different when you’re in the office, when you’re at home, or when you’re doing a little bit of both.

Pamela Hinds: Right.

Matt Abrahams: It might be that firms and the way they meet, et cetera , are going to have to really try different things to see how that works. And it’s my hope that the leadership of these organizations is open to that experimentation and that the employees are too, because this is new for everyone.

Pamela Hinds: Yeah, no, absolutely. And I think it’s experimentation with new ways of evaluating performance, it’s experimentation with how we coordinate our work together, it’s experimentation with new kinds of technology. And as I said, it’s gonna depend a lot on the kinds of jobs that people are doing. We may expect that people in different kinds of jobs will have different needs. There might be differences in the stage of a project.

Matt Abrahams: True, yeah.

Pamela Hinds: There might be differences in the stage of life for people who have small children at home. They may want to work in a particular way and then, five years from now, they may want to work differently. So one of the things that I think is gonna be fascinating is watching how we’re able to sustain this level of flexibility and almost ambiguity. In order to continually make the adjustments that are needed for the given organization, project, individual’s jobs, and so forth.

Matt Abrahams: Yeah, and it strikes me, people have different tolerances for ambiguity, for flexibility, and creativity. And so it’ll be interesting to see if people self-select for certain roles or projects or even companies based on how the organizations approach all of this. I’m not sure if you remember this, but I first met you six or seven years ago when you were so kind to spend some time with me as I was initiating my GSB class on effective virtual communication. Who knew that that topic would become so important in just a few years? At the time, I was fixated on virtual tools and how to maximize their use, but you rightly reminded me that leadership and cultural acceptance are critically important. Can you share your current thoughts on the role of leadership and corporate culture in remote and virtual work?

Pamela Hinds: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, I think that in many ways, with hybrid work in particular, leadership is gonna become much more complex. Leaders need to be able to communicate a vision and have that be understood across a wide variety of groups and locations. And that can be tough. If you’ve got an all-hands meeting and everybody is in the same place and you communicate the vision and then you go back into the office and people are reinforcing that, and you’ve got all kinds of symbols and so forth in the office space that reinforces that. It just is a little bit easier job than if you’re trying to communicate the vision when many people are remote. And then trying to reinforce that vision again, when you don’t have the opportunity to talk with people face to face and have physical symbols in the environment. So, I think that’s gonna be an opportunity for leaders to figure out ways to do a better job of conveying and reinforcing the culture of the organization. And doing so in a way that is evenly distributed, if you will. And I think it’s gonna require that leaders be even better communicators than they had to be before. Because communicating over some of these more lean, if you will, media, can make it harder to rely on what we’ve always relied on in the past: our physical presence, our charisma, and so forth. We need to develop other ways of capturing people’s attention, and compelling and persuading people.

Matt Abrahams: I think you’re exactly right. I think leaders are going to have to rethink the way they communicate in terms of frequency and what they communicate and how they do it. And I also think, based on what you said, that we have to reenvision what culture looks like. And maybe there are ways to package up parts of the culture and the mission and the vision that work better for remote, that work better in person or in a hybrid fashion just instead of thinking of culture and mission and vision as one big monolith. It might be that there are ways to package it differently, depending on where the recipient is getting the information, if they’re at home or if they’re in the office. So I think that creativity and flexibility, you mentioned earlier, really will come to play. Before we end, I like to ask all of my guests the same three questions. I’m curious, are you willing to answer these questions?

Pamela Hinds: Yes.

Matt Abrahams: All right, then let’s start, question number one. If you were to capture the best communication advice you ever received as a five to seven word presentation slide title, what would it be?

Pamela Hinds: I think it would have to be: It’s not about you, it’s about them.

Matt Abrahams: Tell me a little bit more about that.

Pamela Hinds: Yeah, I actually I learned that when I started teaching, because I got very, very anxious when I was teaching. And I was just really having evaluation anxiety, was concerned about what they were thinking of me.

Matt Abrahams: Sure, right.

Pamela Hinds: And at some point I thought, well, what would happen if I actually thought about them and thought about their learning experience and the value that they’re getting from this? And it completely changed the way that I showed up in front of an audience because there’s no reason to be anxious if I’m thinking about them and the value that they are getting out of the talk or the class. So for me that is a really powerful way to do a much better job of communicating.

Pamela Hinds: And enjoy it far more.

Matt Abrahams: I love that so —

Pamela Hinds: Much more fulfilling that way.

Matt Abrahams: Right, so being audience-centric not only takes pressure off of you, but allows you to focus and be present and ultimately helps you to improve the experience for you and for the audience, which is fantastic. So number two, who is a communicator that you admire and why?

Pamela Hinds: Yeah, so the person that comes to mind is John Chambers. The former CEO of CISCO Systems.

Matt Abrahams: Yes.

Pamela Hinds: And I think I’ve always just been so impressed with the way that he communicates, and I think it’s important because it just seems as though he is so authentic. I don’t get the sense that he is getting on the stage and becoming some other person. It’s what you see is what you get. He’s also very clear in his communication. He is very passionate about the things that he cares about. And I get the sense that he’s also really compassionate in the way that he communicates. He seems to connect with people in a very human way.

Matt Abrahams: Yes, and he brings a lot of energy and authenticity to his communication as well. I agree, a very good communicator. And the final question, question number three, what are the first three ingredients that go into a successful communication recipe?

Pamela Hinds: Okay. I mean, for me, not surprisingly, some of them are gonna be things we already talked about.

Matt Abrahams: Sure.

Pamela Hinds: So authenticity is really important to me, to just really come from a very grounded and authentic, transparent, open place. Being engaging is really important. I’m still working on that one, but I think being engaging and having a story or a vision to help people connect with what it is I’m communicating. And I think it’s really helpful to have explicit goals or objectives. What is it I’m trying to accomplish in this communication? And that’s particularly true, well, I guess it’s true in any formal kind of communication, whether I’m teaching or leading a meeting or something along those lines. I want to structure things in a way that have a goal in mind and hopefully get us there.

Matt Abrahams: Right, I like your three ingredients because they cover three very important areas. There’s the approach you have, there’s the way you deliver the message. And then there’s also the content and how it’s focused and goal-driven. So very, very useful and practical advice there.

Well, Pam, thank you so much for your time. Our topic today is incredibly timely. Many of us will be thinking about exploring and figuring out how to work in a hybrid environment. And thank you for sharing your suggestions and ideas about how to optimize our work globally and in this new hybrid way. I really appreciate your time.

Pamela Hinds: Thank you, it’s been fun.

Matt Abrahams: Thank you for listening to Think Fast, Talk Smart , the podcast, a production of Stanford Graduate School of Business. To learn more, go to gsb.stanford.edu. Please download other episodes wherever you find your podcasts.

For media inquiries, visit the Newsroom .

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Here’s What We Do and Don’t Know About the Effects of Remote Work

Three years into a mass workplace experiment, we are beginning to understand more about how work from home is reshaping workers’ lives and the economy.

By Emma Goldberg

When workplaces are remade by a tectonic shift — women flooding into the work force, the rise of computing — it typically takes some time for economists, psychologists, sociologists and other scholars to gather data on its effects.

So when employers moved suddenly to adopt remote work during the pandemic, with the share of employed Americans working exclusively from home rising to 54 percent in 2020 from 4 percent in 2019, researchers leaped to examine the effects of remote work on employees and the economy at large. Now the early results are emerging. They reveal a mixed economic picture, in which many workers and businesses have made real gains under remote work arrangements, and many have also had to bear costs.

Broadly, the portrait that emerges is this: Brick-and-mortar businesses suffered in urban downtowns, as many people stopped commuting. Still, some kinds of businesses, like grocery stores, have been able to gain a foothold in the suburbs. At the same time, rents rose in affordable markets as remote and hybrid workers left expensive urban housing.

Working mothers have generally benefited from the flexibility of being able to work remotely — more of them were able to stay in the work force. But remote work also seems to bring some steep penalties when it comes to career advancement for women.

Studies of productivity in work-from-home arrangements are all over the map. Some papers have linked remote work with productivity declines of between 8 and 19 percent , while others find drops of 4 percent for individual workers; still other research has found productivity gains of 13 percent or even 24 percent .

Nick Bloom, an economist at Stanford and a prolific scholar on remote work, said the new set of studies showed that productivity differed among remote workplaces depending on an employer’s approach — how well trained managers are to support remote employees and whether those employees have opportunities for occasional meet-ups.

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Article Contents

Coronavirus disease as a catalyst for change: an early arrival of the future of work, the differential impact of coronavirus disease on the labor market, coronavirus disease and wlb: a mixed picture, forecasting key trends for the labor market and wlb, discussion and conclusion, conflict of interest.

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“New normal” at work in a post-COVID world: work–life balance and labor markets

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Lina Vyas, “New normal” at work in a post-COVID world: work–life balance and labor markets, Policy and Society , Volume 41, Issue 1, March 2022, Pages 155–167, https://doi.org/10.1093/polsoc/puab011

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The coronavirus pandemic has interrupted labor markets, triggering massive and instant series of experimentations with flexible work arrangements, and new relationships to centralized working environments. These approaches have laid the basis for the “new normal,” likely extending into the organization of work in the post-pandemic era. These new arrangements, especially flexible work arrangements, have challenged traditional relationships with employees and employers, work time and working hours, the work–life balance (WLB), and the relationship of individuals to work. This paper investigates how labor markets have been interrupted due to the pandemic, focusing especially on manual (blue-collar) and nonmanual (white-collar) work and the future of the WLB, along with exploring the projected deviations that are driving a foreseeable future policy revolution in work and employment. This paper argues that although hybrid and remote working would be more popular in the post-pandemic for nonmanual work, it will not be “one size fits all” solution. Traditional work practices will remain, and offices will not completely disappear. Manual labor will continue current work practices with increased demands. Employers’ attention to employees’ WLB in the new normal will target employees’ motivation and achieving better WLB. These trends for the labor market and WLB are classified into three categories—those that are predicated on changes that were already underway but were accelerated with arrival of the pandemic (“acceleration”); those that represent normalization of what were once considered avant-garde ways of work (“normalization”); and those that represent modification or alteration of pre-pandemic set-up (“remodelling”).

Technological, social, and political transformations are powerful forces that radically shape many aspects of our lives, including the world of work, where societies are often forced to take proactive steps to adapt in order to remain competitive and survive. One notable example is the Industrial Revolution, which reshaped societies and economies in lasting ways and drastically changed the way people work, live, and establish a work–life balance (WLB). The ongoing coronavirus disease pandemic is similarly producing fundamental changes in work, work practices, the relationship of workers to co-workers, companies, and localities, as well as WLB. As part of the ongoing efforts to reduce the transmission of coronavirus disease and help protect the health and safety of employees, public and private organizations have generally adopted remote work arrangements, social distancing measures, staggered working hours, and other methods to reduce the presence of employees within work environments while also sustaining organizational activities ( International Labour Organization [ILO], 2020a ; World Health Organization [WHO], 2020 ).

While such practices are now widespread, they have not been uniform, varying between countries not only in terms of the intensity of their adoption and practice, but also in terms of their application across labor markets. For example, white-collar office workers, or those engaged in activities associated with mental work, have enjoyed the health protections of remote work options, while those engaged in physical work activities (consumer and business services, manufacturing, assembly, transportation, and related activities) have had to maintain their physical presence at work, often exposing them to greater health risks ( ILO, 2020c ).

Post-pandemic recovery must address the interruptions in the labor markets around the world, interruptions that have given rise to numerous experimentations with remote work, flexible work arrangements, and new relationships to centralized working environments. However, as far as the long-run diagnosis is concerned, there is a debate on whether coronavirus disease is a unique devastation, after which the work environment will return back to its “old normal” pre-coronavirus disease state, or whether the world is undergoing a sweeping disruption that will give rise to a “new normal,” with researchers and governments speculating about a complete series of different “new normal” future states of the world. Such changes bring up a discussion on what the new normal would be like and what can be foreseen in the post-pandemic world, particularly in the world of work. Therefore, this paper investigates the “new normal” in terms of two key themes—the labor market and WLB. The paper looks at how coronavirus disease has impacted work and the resultant effect on the labor market and WLB currently and in the future (see Figure 1 ). The labor market is explored in terms of the divaricate pathways between blue-collar and nonmanual workers.

Coronavirus pandemic and the labor market.

The goal of this paper is twofold. First, the paper attempts to clarify how coronavirus disease has been a mechanism for change in how work is conducted. The intention is to examine both positive and negative impacts of coronavirus disease on the labor market and WLB. Second, the paper sketches or maps forward an image of the post-coronavirus disease “new normal”, the likely composition of the future labor market, and what WLB might look like, highlighting possible trends and directions. These trends can be classified into one or more of three categories: acceleration, normalization, and remodelling. Acceleration represents those developments that were already underway in the work-world but were thrust onto a higher trajectory because of the unique conditions of the pandemic. Normalization represents the widespread acceptance and adoption of those practices that were once considered to be the exclusive preserve of a few or considered to be novel and rarely used. Remodelling refers to a modification or alteration of the existing pre-COVID set-up in line with the changes ushered in by the pandemic.

This paper is structured in the following manner: it begins with a description of the changes catalyzed by the pandemic in the labor market and with respect to WLB. It then forecasts seven key trends for these. This is followed by a conclusion.

Emergencies are frequently regarded as catalysts for change. The recent coronavirus disease pandemic is no exception. Many policy changes have been initiated to cope with the challenges that accompanied the crisis. While many welcomed the changes in the labor market, others regard them as emergency-induced changes—as something we should not be too positive about. Recalling pre-pandemic life, for decades working in an assigned workspace has been a standard pattern of work in many countries, while conversely, before the pandemic struck, work from home (WFH) was considered as a privilege for certain employees. The ongoing pandemic has become an unexpected catalyst for remote work and forced a reconsideration of work in terms of the designated workplace location and workplace practices ( de Lucas Ancillo et al., 2020 ; Kniffin et al., 2021 ; Ratten, 2020 ; Savić, 2020 ) on a global scale never seen before. It is worth pointing out that many of workers worldwide had never worked from home before. Although there was a slow but gradual increase in the number of remote workers before the pandemic, the world of work has fundamentally changed because of the coronavirus disease pandemic: WFH in pyjamas has become commonplace, and meeting virtually is increasingly mainstream.

In the days when severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) swept across the globe in 2003, home working was not an option for most workers worldwide, as the majority of them did not have access to essential devices and equipment to carry out their work at home. This is quite different from working in the current coronavirus disease pandemic era, with technology now providing more options for work practices. In Hong Kong, for example, WFH was not an option for the workforce during SARS ( Labour Department, 2003 ). However, in the midst of the ongoing coronavirus disease pandemic, such work arrangements were adjusted based on the severity of the local epidemic situation ( Vyas & Butakhieo, 2021 ). Now more than a year into the pandemic, companies worldwide are still pondering the workplace practice that best suits their own needs, and there is no doubt that the lively debate on remote working will continue. Yet this trial run of remote working has shed some light on the future of the workplace, ranging from the telework capacity of the economy to the public attitudes toward remote working. All this is owing to the pandemic as an impetus for a massive and unprecedented change. The pandemic is causing an early arrival of the future of work that was initially envisioned by policymakers around the world.

The pandemic has affected occupations and segments of the labor market differentially ( ILO, 2020b ). White-collar workers in particular have been affected by the pandemic, experiencing significant changes in working practices. WFH arrangements have been widespread, with various repercussions in terms of productivity, locality, working hours, and the traditional separation of work and home environments ( Caringal-Go et al., 2021 ; Wong et al., 2021 ). Typically, the home environment is one that allows the stresses of work to melt away, and permits workers to enjoy time with family separated from work pressures or activities. The conversion of the home environment into a work environment has tended to corrupt the sanctity of the home, with job-related issues fusing into the home and time previously free of work. Firmly demarcated work hours (which begin and end with arriving at and departing from a physical workplace) have disappeared, making it easy to carry on working out of hours and disrupt the home life and WLB.

By contrast, work and work conditions for blue-collar workers have largely remained unchanged outside of social distancing, sanitation, and related health measures. However, the focus here must not be on how the job has changed, but rather on the implications of continuing to work through the pandemic. Blue-collar workers have been forced to brave the health dangers of continued social contact, risking sickness with every interaction. The demands of the jobs would mean that those more vulnerable than others have no alternative safer option: For these workers, sitting at home means being unable to work, which incurs financial strain. Additionally, continuing to work outside the home may cause tension at home due to the workers being at risk of bringing the virus back and infecting loved ones. Both white-collar and blue-collar workers have been impacted; however, their work practices have changed in different ways because of the pandemic.

Having a harmonious balance between work and personal life (i.e., a good WLB) is critical to bringing a healthy and stress-free environment and allowing employees to unleash their full potential. However, striking a good WLB is a challenge for most workers, more so for those with caregiving responsibilities, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also believed that creating a flexible and family-friendly workplace (e.g., having flexible work hours or offering remote work) can help to improve the well-being of the workforce ( Feeney & Stritch, 2019 ; Shagvaliyeva & Yazdanifard, 2014 ).

Many workers now work from their “workspace” of choice which includes home, office, and co-working spaces (depending on the work tasks they are entrusted with). Workers may thereby see better outcomes for their health, family, and overall well-being. While many have adjusted to and enjoyed this change, others have had challenges in drawing a line between working and non-working hours. The likelihood is high for a number of employees to experience increased working hours, as well as increased work-life conflict. For example, in today’s hyper-connected world, many remote working employees are expected to respond to urgent tasks as well as after-work emails, resulting in a blur between work and leisure. A recent study revealed that employees WFH during the pandemic experienced an increase in work-related fatigue and overlap between work and non-work life ( Palumbo, 2020 ).

Indeed, different scholars have different views on the impact of remote working on the WLB of workers. Some believe that WFH has positive impact on the WLB ( Pelta, 2020 ). On the contrary, there are adverse effects found in studies where a blur between work life and personal life is visible and it seems that home-based working may negatively impact WLB ( Grant et al., 2019 ; Nakrošienė & Butkevičienė, 2016 ; Palumbo et al., 2020 ). Putri and Amran (2021) studied the effect of WFH during the coronavirus disease on the WLB of employees in Indonesia and found that it had a positive impact. However, employees often are not able to balance their work and personal time as their working environment might be flexible, but their hours are increased. It has also been found that working from home or working remotely at least 1 day a week gave employees a better WLB ( BBC News, 2021a ). The trend seems to favor hybrid working over a completely remote working environment.

The paper flags seven key trends that will manifest themselves in the future. First, accelerating digital transformation will become critical for the workplace. Second, hybrid work would be a new normal at work in the post-pandemic era. Despite this, some work practices will not be eliminated. Thus, the third trend will be the continued existence of the “office” albeit in a modified form. Fourth, all of the above will induce changes in organizational infrastructure and labor mobility. Fifth, the challenges of performance management and atomistic tendencies at work may arise. Sixth, there may be a potential exacerbation of existing inequalities. Seventh, there will be increased focus on WLB in the future.

Of the aforementioned trends, some are predicated on changes that were already underway but were accelerated with the advent of the pandemic (“acceleration”). Other trends represent the normalization of what were once considered avant-garde ways of work (“normalisation”). Yet other trends represent a remodelling of the status-quo (“remodelling”). And some trends represent a combination of two or more of the above ( Table 1 ).

Forecasting key trends in the labor market and WLB.

Accelerated digital transformation

Changes in the labor markets to keep businesses running are inevitable in the post-pandemic era, and technological adoption is the most visible change in the labor market. It has been shown that digital technology was adopted in organizations prior to the emergence of the pandemic, and this adoption was accelerated during the pandemic ( Forman & van Zeebroeck, 2019 ; Murdoch & Fichter, 2017 ; Vargo et al., 2021 ). The pandemic has thus triggered a shift to a more digital society—or, to be more precise, the real world is gradually dying out, and the fast-paced technological world is rapidly replacing the old one. Digital transformation has, therefore, become an imperative for businesses across industries of all sizes for survival, and adequate digital infrastructure is essential for working in the future ( Gadhi, 2020 ; Melhem et al., 2020 ). The world of work is therefore heading a new way, in line with the changes in the business world. Thus, it could be said that digital and technological enhancements and transformations have an impact on several types of work. Nonmanual work, for example, would benefit more from this enhancement than manual labor, which requires on-site work. Employees with a high capability to work remotely will possibly have a reduced risk of perishing in the future labor market.

Digital technologies and the emergence of the coronavirus disease pandemic could be considered the most critical elements for accelerating the growth of remote working. Other factors, such as the pandemic-driven recession and the geopolitical contest between countries, are causing uncertainty in the future labor market outlook. The post-pandemic times will bring along a possible risk and challenge to organizational sustainability and human resource management.

Emergence of hybrid work

It is anticipated that the world of work will undergo a significant shift toward hybrid work in the post-coronavirus disease world, making hybrid working to some extent the “new normal” at work ( Ro, 2020 ). This is particularly likely for the highly educated and well-paid faction of the workforce. The potential of adopting remote work largely depends on whether a job has tasks and activities which do not require workers to be physically present on-site to get the work done ( Lund et al., 2020 ). Professions requiring in-person involvement such as agricultural work, restaurant, and hotel services are not able to adopt remote working ( Dingel & Neiman, 2020 ). In other words, the adoption of “new normal” work practices—remote working and WFH—will depend on the nature of the work, because not all tasks can be accomplished remotely. Given that, it would require significant rethinking about which jobs are suitable to perform remotely. In the long run, hybrid working has to be thoughtful and granular.

Well into the pandemic, the limitations and merits of remote work are more visible, and this give us reason to believe it will become a part of the future. Employees who WFH have higher flexibility and can adjust their working hours in line with their personal and family needs. While some people are returning to the workplace as many restrictions are being lifted, there are some pandemic-driven practices like hybrid work, WFH, remote work, flexible workplace/worktime, work anywhere, and work near home that persist. Businesses around the world will most likely continue to use them, particularly white-collar jobs. For example, two out of three white-collar workers in Hong Kong still want to WFH, and companies are considering redesigning office space to accommodate hybrid work ( Lam, 2021 ). Several examples around the world, including the BP oil company, have decided to implement a new hybrid model that will enable workers to WFH 2 days a week ( Ambrose, 2021 ). Another example is the nationwide decision in England to allow white-collar workers to work from anywhere, giving them more control over their lives ( BBC News, 2021a ). Some of the world’s most well-known firms, including Amazon, Apple, Google, Facebook, British Airways, Microsoft, and Siemens AG, are inclined to adopt remote working in post-pandemic times ( BBC News, 2020 ; Hartmans, 2020 ; Siemens AG, 2020 ). All the aforementioned examples involve nonmanual work, and it seems very likely that these companies will be willing to embrace remote working in the post-pandemic period.

Additionally, people working in global teams, particularly with white-collar jobs, have further endorsed the feasibility of flexible work that includes WFH and is not confined by standard business hours. The results of multiple surveys conducted around the world prove consistent with each other, suggesting that after coronavirus disease recedes, quite a number of office employees, regardless of nationality or race, would prefer to work remotely at least some days ( Kelly, 2021 ; PWC, 2021 ; Wong & Cheung, 2020 ).

The continued existence of the “office”

Previous studies have revealed that remote working can enhance productivity (e.g., Bloom et al., 2015 ; Grant et al., 2013 , 2019 ). However, it has been argued by scholars that working remotely amidst the pandemic has had both positive and negative impacts on productivity. On the one hand, some employees thought they were more productive when working from home because a flexible working arrangement allows them to manage their working time and place on their own. On the other hand, other employees experienced a difficulty in getting work done at home, caused by the interruption of family members and/or children at home ( Gibbs et al., 2021 ; Mustajab et al., 2020 ; Parker et al., 2020 ).

In a similar manner, several employees with either manual or nonmanual jobs believe that WFH is not the right fit for them. Manual types of work may not be able to adopt WFH due to the nature of the work. Some nonmanual workers prefer returning to the workplace after the pandemic. Working in an office can be more beneficial than working at home in terms of generating new ideas and socialising, and new employees can benefit from working in an office by learning about the organization and its culture ( BBC News, 2021d ; Vasel, 2021 ). WFH can keep new employees from gaining such knowledge. Employees also seem likely to resign if they are required to WFH full time and are not permitted to work in an office ( BBC News, 2021c ). Accordingly, traditional work practices, such as working in an office, are still needed.

Changes in organizational infrastructure and labor mobility

Businesses worldwide are seeing the merits of WFH or hybrid work, including but not limited to having a larger talent pool and saving money on rent ( de Lucas Ancillo et al., 2020 ). This will drive the recovering economy to rethink the need for office space, especially for nonmanual work types, with some companies considering reducing their office space or relocating from high-cost cities (i.e., London, New York, Paris, Hong Kong, etc.) to a more affordable place, and some adapting to a completely virtual office environment. Others are evaluating the possibility of renting co-working spaces. Companies are taking advantage of the demand for hybrid work to save the cost of renting an office ( BBC News, 2021b ). In addition to the relocation of workplaces from major cities to cheaper places, it is also believed that there will be a radical transition in urban life, where remote-working employees will migrate out of business capitals to cities with more affordable rentals and living costs ( Lund et al., 2021 ), owing largely to the prevalence of remote working. Such a transition will boost the economy of the cities concerned as well as their surrounding areas.

The challenges of performance management and atomistic tendencies at work

The “new normal” work practice would impact certain businesses and individuals or even work itself. For example, working mothers will be able to reduce commuting time and have more time to take care of their children. However, some managers feel that they cannot manage employees who are working remotely. Expectations for working objectives and output are not clear, and it is difficult to know whether employees are actively working ( ILO, 2020b ). Apart from that, some organizations have found it is difficult to switch to remote working for several reasons, such as a lack of digitized paperwork, information confidentiality concerns, and the fact that some organizations do not yet have in place guidelines and procedures for remote working ( ILO, 2020c ). The potential impacts of remote work practices should be given careful attention: For example, technology-related problems take longer to resolve remotely than in an office where employees might have technical support. Remote workers may encounter this problem, and such a problem could disrupt the working environment and work productivity.

Digital miscommunication, which is a lack of informal interaction and human interaction, could also be one of the potential impacts of remote working. This miscommunication might shape a work design that is more individual- than team-based, and make co-workers’ interaction and team building even more difficult.

Potential exacerbation of existing inequalities

Given the adoption of more digital technology, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI), as well as the “new normal” work practice in the post-pandemic labor force, certain types of occupations could be adversely affected (see Figure 1 ). The least educated, unskilled, and low-skilled workers may be replaced by automation ( Lund et al., 2021 ). Vulnerable workers will likely be the hardest-hit group; some of them might have to work multiple jobs (probably freelance jobs) to sustain a living. It is likely further to exacerbate existing inequalities in the world of work, and therefore reskilling and upskilling will become more necessary than ever before. Similarly, jobs such as personal care, on-site customer service, and leisure and travel have been severely disturbed by the pandemic. Businesses and policymakers can help workers in workforce transitions by additional training and education programs For example, businesses might analyze which tasks can be done remotely instead of looking at an entire occupation and possibly eliminating it. Policymakers might facilitate businesses in terms of digital infrastructure enhancement ( Lund et al., 2021 ). Work-related policy changes that will protect and support businesses and workers, including enhancing employees’ WLB in the post-pandemic, are also essential. The future trend of the labor market will be a challenging time for everyone and the labor policies will need to be improved and strengthened in order to thrive in the post-coronavirus disease world.

Managing WLB

As the trend seems to favor hybrid working over a completely remote working environment, whole or partial renegotiation and reorganization will be essential. Managers and HR will have to accommodate the changes in organizational strategies as well as in HR policies. A study by Kumar and Mokashi (2020) on WLB in the UK’s higher education institutions employees revealed that supervisor support during coronavirus disease helped employees enhance their living quality. Similar to previous studies, it has been reemphasized in coronavirus disease times that supervisors’ or managers’ support can help employees achieve a good WLB ( Julien et al., 2011 ; Talukder & Galang, 2021 ; Talukder et al., 2018 ).

Alternatively, governments may opt to implement specific policies in this regard. One notable example would be to adopt the “right-to-disconnect” law similar to that which is enforced in the Philippines and France, where employees have the right not to respond to work-related engagements and demands during nonworking hours ( Broom, 2021 ; Department of Labor and Employment, Philippines, 2017 ; Eurofound, 2019 ). Encouraging healthy work practices such as working within regular hours and taking regular breaks will help employees to draw a firm line between work and nonwork activities ( Adamovic, 2018 ; Chen & Fulmer, 2018 ). Optimizing personal and work life is not easy when adopting a “new normal” working model. Employees need to be disciplined and well-organized in their work and personal life management. This global health crisis has made people pay more attention to health and hygiene, which has also driven up the demand for healthy workplace cultures. However, to attain a WLB in the post-coronavirus disease world, employers may need to consider and plan a way forward such as providing clarity to employees and a variety of programs to support employees in their well-being as well as fostering a “trust- and outcome-based working culture” ( Sarin, 2020 ; Wolor et al., 2020 ). Employers’ attention to employees’ WLB will assist in keeping employees motivated and maintaining their performance. Therefore, WLB in the post-pandemic times should be brought to both employers’ and employees’ attention and should be considered when developing a plan for policy changes that would benefit both companies and employees.

This paper explores how the coronavirus disease has disrupted the labor markets, focusing on blue-collar and nonmanual (white-collar) work, the future of the WLB, what the “new normal” would be like, and what can be foreseen in the post-pandemic. As evident, the pandemic has created a health crisis and a labor market alarm, and led to many changes, particularly in the working world. These changes either “accelerated” the pace of developments that were already underway, and/or are contributing to a “remodelling” of the pre-pandemic work-world and/or have contributed to the “normalization” of what were considered to be experimental and novel ways of work.

In seeking a possible working solution during such difficult times, “acceleration” is seen in the increased use of technology to enable remote working arrangement initially as a stopgap measure and followed by a hybrid manner of work, with the exception of professions that require a physical presence. Resulting in a significant “normalization” of these practices. While various work procedures and habits have been followed, there has been a wide variation in their use worldwide and across different professions in the labor market. Workers with high educational attainment and those who work as white-collar office workers have had the privilege of working in a safe and protected environment, while those who are engaged in manual and physical work engagement have braved challenges and continued to work under high risk.

Many white-collar workers that were forced to WFH as an emergency response to the pandemic did not receive additional support from their organizations. They survived using their limited personal resources while carrying out the job requirements. Many such employees acquired skills suitable to the future WLB policy, such as, get used to remote working, manage stress and productivity, and carefully splitting work and family time. In doing so workers were “remodeling” pre-pandemic work practices alongside “normalization” of news ways. In the future, such employees should be supported with WFH arrangements ever after the pandemic, with admission from their organizations. Employers have experimented on the feasibility of such work practices and are focusing more on cost saving and higher profitability. Although there remains a conflict between the expectations of employers and employees, On the whole, hybrid working and staying flexible is likely to be in demand and could be the “new normal” in the post-COVID period. In this case, businesses worldwide will need to proactively craft a long-term remote or hybrid work strategy based on their own needs, as there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution. Similarly, governments worldwide need to revisit the current employment policies to have strict and proper employment laws in place and assure fair employee treatment.

The changes in the labor policy framework dramatically impacted the inequalities, representing both “acceleration” and “remodelling”. The work-types for manual workers and nonmanual workers have undergone changes and made it clear that the economy must transform into retail, where it is driven by the needs of customers for the best possible level of service. Due to the nature of the work, a WFH arrangement cannot be utilized for those who need to be physically present to offer their services. Moreover, vulnerable employees (e.g., low-paid, low-skilled workers, persons with disabilities, and migrant workers) have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic. Many of them have been put on furlough since the early stages of the pandemic, leading some to consider making a living in the gig economy, as there seems to be little prospect soon of an end to the recession caused by the pandemic. However, jobs in the gig economy—for example, project-based jobs and independent contractual jobs—appear to have weaker protection and lesser benefits for workers ( United Nations, 2020 ). Furthermore, automation tends to replace the least educated, unskilled, and low-skill labor. As such, it has the potential to exacerbate existing inequities.

In light of the aforementioned changes in the labor market, the development of future WLB policies must include a spectrum of directions, such as customization of working hours under WFH, ensuring trust and support for WFH employees, responding to the demands to work from the office, and guaranteeing equal pay and the right to disconnect. Thus, policymakers must chart out a proper plan of action and consider not only jobs and groups of people but also when and which people can work remotely or on-site. According to Boland et al. (2020) , there are four steps to reimagine work and the workplace in the post-pandemic working world. First, how is work done in the post-pandemic working world? Organizations should restructure their working processes and functions to perform work: For example, workers may chart out tasks to be performed in the formal office environment versus those that could be taken care of in a remote setting. Second, once reconstructing their work processes and identifying the tasks that can be done remotely, organizations should consider segments of workers and reclassify roles to identify employees’ suitability for exclusively WFH or hybrid remote working and on-site working. Third, to maintain productivity and collaboration organizations should design workspaces that support workers both remotely and on-site, with tools such as virtual whiteboards and videoconferences. Lastly, some organizations may shift from a big city to a small city to save on their rental costs. Co-working spaces, flexible leases, flex space, and remote work seem to be examples of post-coronavirus disease options. These four steps—restructuring the working process, identifying tasks, redesigning workspaces, and relocating offices—will help organizations get some idea of how to prepare for and foresee the future of work and the workplace.

WLB should take a central development in labor policy in the post-pandemic working world. Balancing work and personal life is challenging both for employers and employees. Although previous studies have emphasized that remote work, WFH, or flexible workplaces can enhance employees’ WLB ( Pelta, 2020 ), WFH during the pandemic showed that some employees encountered an imbalance between work and personal/family life (see Figure 1 ). There is demand for giving people deserved “holidays” as due to hybrid digital working, as some employees have been working 24/7 without weekend breaks. People are being deprived of both their personal space and weekly time off as their work is “omnipresent” and one can access the office from anywhere on any device, be it a phone, laptop, iPad, or other tool. In contrast, some employees were able to enhance their WLB through a WFH arrangement, with things such as flexible working hours and having more time to take care of young children and/or elderly parents, and thus were more motivated. During this WFH period, some employees were able to achieve a good WLB while others were not.

The coronavirus disease pandemic has demanded adjustments and changes from the workers, who are in supervision and managers’ positions. Previous studies have found that supervisors influence employees’ WLB, with supervisor trust and support enhancing the WLB of employees ( Kumar & Mokashi, 2020 ; Talukder & Galang, 2021 ). Organizations and policymakers may need to consider how work is supervised and appraised in order to help supervisors trust employees and provide support to help employees achieve a WLB in the post-coronavirus disease world,. Also, the importance of a workplace productivity culture should be better defined by the managers so that workers can choose to work within or outside of the formal work environment without any negative repercussions. For instance, in European countries some regulations and policies related to WLB and flexible work practices, such as the “right to disconnect”, promote teleworkers’ WLB such that workers can opt whether to work or not outside of working hours ( Eurofound, 2020 ). Hence, to help employees achieve their WLB in the post-pandemic world, organizations and policymakers might consider an emphasis on:

Allowing employees to customize their work commitment and working hours and thus make WFH employees motivated and productive;

Trust and support WFH employees to help them reduce stress (which may also lead to an increase in productivity and work commitment);

Enhancing work motivation and employees’ well-being, understand that some employees may be willing to WFH and others prefer to be in an office;

Guaranteeing employees both equal pay for remote working and the right to disconnect;

Reconstructing how work is done, and identify which work can be performed remotely and which requires an onsite work environment.

Although remote working is an important trend in the post-pandemic world, many crucial issues in terms of the well-being of remote employees, national laws and regulations, and cyber-security risks require monitoring and further solutions. Therefore, relevant parties at all levels of society, including policymakers and businesses, must work together to create a more sustainable model for “new normal” work practices.

Fundamental changes should apply to labor policy. How governments address the “new normal” of remote and hybrid working will affect both the WLB and workplace inequalities and abuse. It is essential to have policies that encourage employee protection and well-being. To sum up, the pandemic has awakened countless speculations, assumptions, and debates on what the impending labor market will look like. coronavirus disease has given rise to transformation, interruption, endurance, and ambiguity. Studying the post-pandemic paths, as they take the form of “acceleration,” “normalization,” and “remodelling.” is vital in anticipating the connection between workplace disruptions and a pathway to a “new normal.”

The research was supported by a “Departmental Small Research Grant” funded by Department of Asian and Policy Studies, Faculty of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.

None declared.

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• 04 March 2024

What science says about hybrid working — and how to make it a success

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A woman works from an outside table in New York City in 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted lasting changes to working habits. Credit: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty

Certain aspects of scientific life do not lend themselves to working from home. Archaeologist Adrià Breu, who studies neolithic pottery at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, can’t dig for artefacts in his kitchen, and Claudia Sala’s experiments in molecular microbiology at the Toscana Life Sciences Foundation in Siena, Italy, oblige her to commute to her laboratory most days. But both these researchers also get to work from home — when they write up papers, for example, or analyse data.

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Hybrid workplace models are the new normal.

Written by IR Team

Creating a successful Hybrid Workplace Model

Hybrid working is being hailed as the future of work. The office space as we know it still exists, but with a global pandemic propelling the adoption of a whole new workplace culture, the hybrid work environment will be the way we do things in the future.

The 'classic' workplace was one of predictable routine. Your commute to and from the office could eat up large chunks of your day. You'd sit at your desk, carry out your assigned tasks, perhaps go to a conference room for a few face-to-face meetings, and head home at the end of the day to stop, rewind, and repeat.

That classic working model is somewhat difficult to imagine in today’s world, where business and technology have joined together to create a force to be reckoned with.

Today, your physical office could just as easily be a coffee shop, library or your living room instead of a static cubicle or desk. The workplace has undergone a wide range of iterations as technology has evolved, and today, we navigate a newer, more flexible and potentially more productive way to work. It's clear that we’ve made a significant leap forward into the modern hybrid workplace.

The well executed hybrid workplace

A hybrid workplace model combines in-office and remote work to offer flexibility and support to employees. In a hybrid workplace, workers typically enjoy more autonomy and a better work-life balance – which means they tend to be more creative and engaged. Employers benefit by building a more productive, healthy, stable workforce, reducing the likelihood of staff turnover, which can potentially cost them dearly. 

For a hybrid model to work, it depends on a great deal of planning, commitment from leadership, ongoing employee communication, and buy-in from IT teams. Without these elements, hybrid workplace models will face issues that can impact an organization's success. We'll talk about those issues later in this blog.

The role of the office space

The purpose of the office has changed. It's no longer 'the place where we go to work'. Instead it has become one of a number of places for workers to go, for in-person collaboration, brainstorming, conferencing, socializing and learning, as they meet their working objectives.

In a Gensler workplace survey , it was revealed that in the United States, 52% of employees prefer a mix of working from home and attending the office, saying it has a positive impact on their ability to be creative, solve problems and build relationships. 

A well executed hybrid workplace model is a combination of staff who work remotely, as well as staff who work in person on-site. The key is enabling employees to have the flexibility to choose where and when they work. Time spent in physical headquarters could be allocated by days of the week, or by teams, or on an as-needed basis.

Image source: SAP Insights

According to  Gartner , “where and when work gets done will be determined by what makes the most sense to drive the highest levels of productivity and engagement.”

Benefits of a well executed hybrid workplace model

The basis of a successful hybrid workplace is a people-first approach to employee experience. It means equality and inclusivity for remote workers as well as in-office employees. It takes advantage of evolving HR technologies to achieve flexibility, agility, and productivity.  But the benefits of a hybrid workplace model extend right across an organization, encompassing both employers and employees.

Increased employee productivity

The hybrid model allows a number of possible factors to contribute to boosts in productivity.

Increased autonomy and the flexibility to choose work hours and location;

Fewer interruptions at home than in the office

Repurposing the time spent commuting to something more valuable

The opportunity to come into the office at times when in-person collaboration is best.

According to  Gartner , “at typical organizations where employees work a standard 40 hours per week in the office, only 36% of employees were high performers. When organizations shift from this environment to one of radical flexibility where employees have choice over where, when, and how much they work, 55% of employees were high performers.”

Better employee experience and work-life balance

An integrated focus on a better work-life balance helps create an efficient hybrid workplace. Greater flexibility and autonomy increases job satisfaction and happiness, which improves performance at work as well as overall employee well-being.

Reduced overhead costs

Organizations can re-visit their real estate strategies and take the opportunities afforded by a remote employees and a distributed workforce to reduce office space or move to smaller locations. This can significantly lower overheads. With employees working from different locations, they're also in a position to significantly increase their employee headcount without incurring any additional space-related costs.

Bigger Talent Pool

Those working in a hybrid environment tend to be happier, and more engaged, which leads to more workplace satisfaction, and less turnover which also reduces costs. As well as better employee retention rates, the ability to attract top talent is a huge drawcard for organizations that adopt hybrid working. It provides larger range of locations from which they're able to hire. Under an office-based model, for example, an organization based in New York would have been forced to hire from New York and its surrounding areas. Under a hybrid workplace model, the same organization will be able to cast its net much further, perhaps to the whole of the US, thereby significantly increasing the number of candidates from which to select its employees.

Improved Visibility of C-level staff

Most conference facilities in-office have a limited capacity, which restricts the number of attendees. Often, this means that information tends to cascade down the organizational hierarchy, passing through different management layers until it filters down to employees on the ground floor. Today's communication tools and virtual meeting rooms, on the other hand, come with no space constraints whatsoever, creating an opportunity for senior leaders to interact with every individual in the organization.

The four basic hybrid workplace modes

Gartner has identified four basic work modes that teams should intentionally leverage as they strive to create an effectively executed hybrid workplace model.

Most organizations think about hybrid work only in terms of location, or where teams are located or distributed. But Gartner research shows that organizations should also consider the hybrid workplace in terms of how they spend their time (whether teams are working asynchronously or synchronously).

Here are the four work modes within the hybrid model that organizations should invest in equally, to create a hybrid work model that works:

Working together, together:  When teams are co-located, they contribute to meetings in a shared space.

Working together, apart:  When teams are distributed, but they participate in virtual meetings.

Working alone, together:  When teams are in shared spaces, but not collaborating, or working at the same time.

Working alone, apart:  When teams are distributed, and individual workers are conducting deep focus work.

Challenges within today's hybrid workplace

The hybrid workplace is here to stay, but it doesn’t come without its drawbacks, and it's important to understand some of the challenges that businesses have already started to face.

The potential for inequality

Remote working is a boon for some, but not everyone has the luxury of a home office or a peaceful space to work. Many workers find that working from home interferes with their personal lives, as they may have to work in cramped conditions in shared houses or noisy studio flats with no desk space.

Fear of exclusion

In-person interactions in a common collaboration space tend to produce stronger bonds with teams and colleagues than virtual communications. Those who feel neglected may assume they’re missing out on these opportunities, affecting perceptions of promotion and company culture.

Subcultures can form

When teams are physically separated from each other, there’s often an absence of employee feedback, and a greater risk of disconnection. Poorly managed teams can weaken employee engagement, spurring unhealthy competition and mistrust.

Lack of communication

Hybrid workplaces rely on digital-first communication, and this can make it harder to be creative and share ideas with colleagues and carry out collaborative tasks. the opportunity for creativity, innovative and ad-hoc moments can be diminished.

Employees who feel included in more detailed communication are nearly five times more likely to report increased productivity. Communicating about the future can drive performance outcomes today, so leaders should consider increasing the frequency of their employee updates,

Image source: McKinsey

Cultural and social impact

Being in a physical space draws people together and connects employees. Hybrid working can cause a divide between remote colleagues and in-office staff, with reduced face time between teams which can impact culture, mentorship and connections to business values.

Increased security risks

As organizations move towards hybrid models, security will continue to be a risk and a concern. With remote employees using their own home networks, and potentially their own devices, HR and IT departments will need to focus on end-user education and security.

Different Types of Hybrid Workplace Models

In an effective hybrid workplace, there are many different kinds of working models, which can support an individual organization's health and safety policies, while also providing a flexible working environment. 

Image source: HiBob

The at-will model

This is the most flexible model, which enables employees to choose the most suitable work arrangement for any given day. It’s particularly useful for those who want to come into the office when they need to meet colleagues or clients, or require a quiet place to work for the day.

The split-week model

This splits the week between working from home two to three days a week and office based work two to three days a week. This can work well for different departments; for example, the marketing team comes into the office on Mondays and Wednesdays, while customer support comes into the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This hybrid model enables managers to stay in touch with their teams and allows for regular face-to-face group meetings.

Employees alternate between working from home and working morning or evening shifts on site. This is a more difficult model to work with because many people don’t like shift work and find it hard to get in very early in the morning or to work late at night.

Week-by-week

This model sees employees alternating between working from home and working onsite on a weekly basis. This alternative is used to allow large teams to use the office environment together at the same time and meet up for reviews, deadlines, and updates.

Financial and legal issues of hybrid working

Implementing a hybrid workplace brings with it many challenges in terms of culture, engagement, management and accountability.  Here are some of the fundamental legal issues associated with hybrid working models.

Distinguish between hybrid (fixed) and hybrid (flexible) i.e. are you offering complete flexibility as to when an employee works at home, or are you offering a fixed home/office pattern?

Establish the details:

Will there be any days or times of compulsory office attendance?

Is the working at home element compulsory or voluntary?

Will working hours be the same on home and office days?

Does attendance at a client meeting or event override the right to work at home?

Do employees get additional working at home time if they come to the office on a scheduled homeworking day?

Do they have to “make up” office days if they miss one for any reason?

Are travel expenses reimbursable for coming to the office on additional days?

Do dress codes apply when working from home e.g. for client meetings or events?

Will a permanent move to hybrid working mean a change in duties for some employees because of the work they do?

Do your current employment contracts allow you to make the necessary changes?  If not, what options do you have for varying them?

Cover off health and safety thoroughly i.e. workplace COVID assessments and rules, and homeworking assessments.

Training and Development in the hybrid workplace

A hybrid workforce means teams may be split into remote and in-office contingents. It can be challenging to provide both groups with consistent and meaningful training.

In addition, HR will need to turn a greater focus on supporting the tools and technology that will keep a hybrid workplace running. They’ll have to create a cohesive culture, decide how to handle onboarding, and ensure employees are up to speed on the expectations of the new workplace.

This all means developing new policies. It also means a big focus on learning and development tailored to meet the needs of a hybrid workplace and of each employee.

Collaboration tools need to work

In a hybrid work model, data and analytics are crucial to understanding end-user performance and which user-communities are impacted. Being able to see every level of your hybrid working ecosystem provides layers of intelligence and insights that create team cohesion, cost management, innovation, and growth.

Find out how IR's Collaborate suite of performance management solutions can give you the insights you need to monitor, troubleshoot and manage your entire hybrid workplace UC infrastructure from a single pane of glass.

Topics: Communications Customer experience Performance management Collaborate Hybrid workplace

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Work Trend Index Annual Report

The Next Great Disruption Is Hybrid Work—Are We Ready?

March 22, 2021

Illustration by Ben Wiseman

W We’re on the brink of a disruption as great as last year’s sudden shift to remote work: the move to hybrid work — a blended model where some employees return to the workplace and others continue to work from home. We’re experiencing this at Microsoft, and today we shared how we’re evolving our own hybrid work strategy for our 160,000+ employees around the world. e’re on the brink of a disruption as great as last year’s sudden shift to remote work: the move to hybrid work — a blended model where some employees return to the workplace and others continue to work from home. We’re experiencing this at Microsoft, and today we shared how we’re evolving our own hybrid work strategy for our 160,000+ employees around the world.

We’re all learning as we go, but we know two things for sure: flexible work is here to stay, and the talent landscape has fundamentally shifted. Remote work has created new job opportunities for some, offered more family time, and provided options for whether or when to commute. But there are also challenges ahead. Teams have become more siloed this year and digital exhaustion is a real and unsustainable threat.

With over 40 percent of the global workforce considering leaving their employer this year, a thoughtful approach to hybrid work will be critical for attracting and retaining diverse talent. To help organizations through the transition, the 2021 Work Trend Index outlines findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries and an analysis of trillions of productivity and labor signals across Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn. It also includes perspectives from experts who have spent decades studying collaboration, social capital, and space design at work.

Read on to explore how the year 2020 created lasting changes to the way we work, and the seven trends that will shape the future of a hybrid work world.

Download the full report

The 2021 Work Trend Index

1. Flexible work is here to stay

Employees want the best of both worlds: over 70 percent of workers want flexible remote work options to continue, while over 65 percent are craving more in-person time with their teams. To prepare, 66 percent of business decision makers are considering redesigning physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments. The data is clear: extreme flexibility and hybrid work will define the post-pandemic workplace.

“Over the past year, no area has undergone more rapid transformation than the way we work. Employee expectations are changing, and we will need to define productivity much more broadly — inclusive of collaboration, learning, and wellbeing to drive career advancement for every worker, including frontline and knowledge workers, as well as for new graduates and those who are in the workforce today. All this needs to be done with flexibility in when, where, and how people work.”

Satya Nadella, CEO at Microsoft

It’s equally important to note, however, that leaders may be too narrowly focused on where to invest. Even after a year of working from home, 42 percent of employees say they lack essential office supplies at home, and one in 10 don’t have an adequate internet connection to do their job. Yet, over 46 percent say their employer does not help them with remote work expenses.

Last year's move to remote work boosted feelings of inclusion for workers because everyone was in the same virtual room. The move to hybrid will break that mold and it will be a new and important objective to ensure employees are given the flexibility to work when and where they want, as well as the tools they need to equally contribute from wherever they happen to be.

Hybrid work is inevitable

Business leaders are on the brink of major updates to accommodate what employees want: the best of both worlds.

The Work Trend Index survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Edelman Data x Intelligence, among 31,092 full-time employed or self-employed workers across 31 markets between January 12, 2021 to January 25, 2021.

2. Leaders are out of touch with employees and need a wake-up call

Many business leaders are faring better than their employees. Sixty-one percent of leaders say they are “thriving” right now — 23 percentage points higher than those without decision-making authority. They also report building stronger relationships with colleagues (+11 percentage points) and leadership (+19 percentage points), earning higher incomes (+17 percentage points), and taking all or more of their allotted vacation days (+12 percentage points).

“Those impromptu encounters at the office help keep leaders honest. With remote work, there are fewer chances to ask employees, “Hey, how are you?” and then pick up on important cues as they respond. But the data is clear: our people are struggling. And we need to find new ways to help them.”

Jared Spataro, CVP at Microsoft 365

Business leaders surveyed were also more likely to be Millennials or Gen X, male, information workers, and farther along in their careers. In contrast, Gen Z, women, frontline workers, and those new to their careers reported struggling the most over the past year.

And workers feel the disconnect. Thirty-seven percent of the global workforce says their companies are asking too much of them at a time like this.

Business leaders are faring better than their employees

Most leaders in our study were male information workers with an established career – the near opposite of those struggling most.

The Work Trend Index survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Edelman Data x Intelligence, among 31,092 full-time employed or self-employed workers across 31 markets – between January 12, 2021 to January 25, 2021.

3. High productivity is masking an exhausted workforce

In our survey, self-assessed productivity remained the same or higher for many employees (82 percent) over the past year, but at a human cost. One in five global survey respondents say their employer doesn’t care about their work-life balance. Fifty-four percent feel overworked. Thirty-nine percent feel exhausted. And trillions of productivity signals from Microsoft 365 quantify the precise digital exhaustion workers are feeling.

The digital intensity of workers’ days has increased substantially, with the average number of meetings and chats steadily increasing since last year. Specifically, when we compare collaboration trends in Microsoft 365 between February 2020 and February 2021:

Time spent in Microsoft Teams meetings has more than doubled (2.5X) globally and, aside from a holiday dip in December, continues to climb.

The average meeting is 10 minutes longer, increasing from 35 to 45 minutes.

The average Teams user is sending 45 percent more chats per week and 42 percent more chats per person after hours, with chats per week still on the rise.

The number of emails delivered to commercial and education customers in February, when compared to the same month last year, is up by 40.6 billion.

And we’ve seen a 66 percent increase in the number of people working on documents.

This barrage of communications is unstructured and mostly unplanned, with 62 percent of calls and meetings unscheduled or conducted ad hoc. And workers are feeling the pressure to keep up. Despite meeting and chat overload, 50 percent of people respond to Teams chats within five minutes or less, a response time that has not changed year-over-year. This proves the intensity of our workday, and that what is expected of employees during this time, has increased significantly.

Digital overload is real and climbing

Even one year in, time spent in meetings and chats sent per person each week continue to climb. 2

Start of global lockdown due to Covid-19

Holiday Season

The holidays bring a much-needed break in activity

Analysis of collaboration activity across Microsoft 365 tools from February 2020 to February 2021. This visualization is based on aggregated data, without personal or organization-identifying information.

4. Gen Z is at risk and will need to be re-energized

An overlooked demographic appears to be suffering right now: Gen Z. Sixty percent of this generation — those between the ages of 18 and 25 — say they are merely surviving or flat-out struggling right now.

“Networking as someone early in their career has gotten so much more daunting since the move to fully remote work — especially since switching to a totally different team during the pandemic. Without hallway conversations, chance encounters, and small talk over coffee, it's hard to feel connected even to my immediate team, much less build meaningful connections across the company.”

Hannah McConnaughey, Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft

This generation is more likely to be single and early in their careers, making them more likely to feel the impacts of isolation, struggle with motivation at work, or lack the financial means to create proper workplaces at home. Survey respondents reported that they were more likely to struggle balancing work with life (+8 percentage points) and to feel exhausted after a typical day of work (+8 percentage points) when compared to older generations. Gen Z also reported difficulties feeling engaged or excited about work, getting a word in during meetings, and bringing new ideas to the table.

New generations offer fresh perspectives and challenge the status quo. Their contributions are critical, and as the first generation to start their jobs in a completely remote environment on such a widespread basis, their experience will set expectations and attitudes toward work moving forward. Ensuring that Gen Z feels a sense of purpose and wellbeing is an urgent imperative in the shift to hybrid.

Gen Z is struggling more than other generations

The last year has been more challenging for Gen Z in many ways — from bringing new ideas to the table, to simply feeling engaged or excited about work.

5. Shrinking networks are endangering innovation

The pandemic-driven isolation people feel in their personal lives is also happening at work.

Anonymized collaboration trends between billions of Outlook emails and Microsoft Teams meetings reveal a clear trend: the shift to remote shrunk our networks. At the onset of the pandemic, our analysis shows that interactions with our close networks at work increased, while interactions with our distant networks diminished. This suggests that, as we shifted into lockdowns, we clung to our immediate teams for support and let our broader network fall to the wayside.

Put simply, companies became more siloed than they were before the pandemic. And while interactions with our close networks are still more frequent than they were before the pandemic, the trend shows even these close team interactions have started to diminish over time.

Teams are more siloed in a digital work world

Collaboration trends in Microsoft Teams and Outlook show that interactions with our immediate team, or close network, strengthened with the move to remote work. However, our interactions outside of that team, or distant networks, have diminished.

Analysis of an aggregated 122 billion email interactions and 2.3 billion meeting interactions in Microsoft Teams and Outlook across industries and countries around the world. This visualization is based on aggregated data, without personal or organization-identifying information.

“When you lose connections, you stop innovating. It’s harder for new ideas to get in and groupthink becomes a serious possibility.”

Dr. Nancy Baym, Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft

Thankfully, our analysis suggests that hybrid work may help revive our networks at work. For example, looking at New Zealand, we can see that team isolation — measured by a lack of communication with our distant network — spikes when lockdowns are issued. When lockdowns are eased, we see increased communication with our distant network. We saw this trend in other countries as well, including South Korea.

In New Zealand, eased lockdown restrictions improve workplace networks

Collaboration trends in New Zealand reveal a hopeful look at the future of hybrid work. As lockdown restrictions ease, team isolation improves.

The analysis considered email and meeting interactions across Microsoft Teams meetings and Outlook emails in New Zealand. This visualization is based on aggregated data, without personal or organization-identifying information.

As companies balance a mix of in-person and remote teams, it will be important to remember that remote work makes for more siloed teams. Leaders must look for ways to foster the social capital, cross-team collaboration, and spontaneous idea-sharing that’s been driving workplace innovation for decades.

6. Authenticity will spur productivity and wellbeing

As people navigated unprecedented stress on the frontlines, balanced childcare and homeschool, worked from living rooms, quieted barking dogs, and pushed away curious cats, something changed: work became more human.

One in five have met their colleagues’ pets or families virtually, and as we clung to each other to get through the year, one in six (17 percent) have cried with a colleague this year. This number was even higher for those in industries hit hardest during this time, like education (20 percent), travel and tourism (21 percent), and healthcare (23 percent).

“Before the pandemic, we encouraged people to ‘bring their whole self to work,’ but it was tough to truly empower them to do that. The shared vulnerability of this time has given us a huge opportunity to bring real authenticity to company culture and transform work for the better.”

These interactions with coworkers may help foster a workplace where people feel more comfortable to be themselves. Compared to one year ago, 39 percent of people say they’re more likely to be their full, authentic selves at work and 31 percent are less likely to feel embarrassed or ashamed when their home life shows up at work. And people who interacted with their coworkers more closely than before not only experienced stronger work relationships, but also reported higher productivity and better overall wellbeing.

It‘s important to note, however, that Black and U.S. Latino workers in the U.S. reported bigger challenges in building relationships, feeling included, and bringing their authentic selves to work than the broader population. Leaders and teammates should be aware and ensure their workplace interactions encourage authenticity among all groups, especially in hybrid environments.

A tough year may have made work more human

Coworkers leaned on each other in new ways to get through the last year. 1 in 6 (17 percent) has cried with a coworker, especially those in healthcare (23 percent), travel and tourism (21 percent), and education (20 percent).

One in six employees have cried with a coworker (17 percent). By industry this number jumps for education (20 percent), Travel and Tourism (21 percent), and healthcare (23 percent) industries.

7. Talent is everywhere in a hybrid work world

One of the brightest sides of the shift to remote work is that it widens the talent marketplace. Remote job postings on LinkedIn increased more than five times during the pandemic, and people are taking notice. Forty-six percent of remote workers we surveyed are planning to move to a new location this year because they can now work remotely. People no longer have to leave their desk, house or community to expand their career, and it will have profound impacts on the talent landscape.

“This shift is likely to stick, and it’s good for democratizing access to opportunity. Companies in major cities can hire talent from underrepresented groups that may not have the means or desire to move to a big city. And in smaller cities, companies will now have access to talent that may have a different set of skills than they had before.”

Karin Kimbrough, Chief Economist at LinkedIn

An analysis of the LinkedIn Economic Graph shows women, Gen Z, and those without a graduate degree as the groups most likely to apply for those jobs. And, in the U.S., our survey found that Black and U.S. Latino workers are more likely than white workers and men to say they prefer remote work.

Remote opportunities are more attractive to diverse applicants

On LinkedIn, women, Gen Z, and those without a graduate degree are more likely to apply for remote versus on-site positions.

Insights were generated from data points created by hundreds of millions of members in over 200 countries on LinkedIn. Learn more.

What's at stake?

As the world opens up, more employees are evaluating their next move

Today, our research shows that 41 percent of the global workforce is likely to consider leaving their current employer within the next year, with 46 percent planning to make a major pivot or career transition.

According to global 2020 data collected by Glint, a people success platform acquired by LinkedIn, 71 percent of employees said they plan to be with their current employer in two years, a number nearly consistent with the previous year (69 percent). 3 “We nearly have a doubling of job switching-intent,” says LinkedIn Senior Editor-at-Large George Anders. “People are going to try and compress into one year what they might ordinarily have done in two.”

With so much change upending people over the past year, employees are reevaluating priorities, home bases, and their entire lives. So, whether it’s due to fewer networking or career advancement opportunities, a new calling, pent-up demand, or a host of pandemic-related struggles, more people are considering their next move. The way companies approach the next phase of work — embracing the positives and learning from the challenges of this last year — will impact who stays, who goes, and who ultimately seeks to join your company.

Employees are at an inflection point

41% of employees are considering leaving their current employer this year and 46% say they’re likely to move because they can now work remotely.

In this year, 41 percent of global employees are thinking about leaving their current employer. Forty-six percent say they are more likely to move because they can now work remotely.

The way forward

Taken together, these trends show that we are no longer bound to traditional notions of space and time to work together. Instead, we can set aside our long-held assumptions and shift our mental model to embrace extreme flexibility. And with these five strategies, business leaders can rewire their operating model for a successful shift to hybrid work.

Create a plan to empower people for extreme flexibility

Every organization will need a plan that encompasses policy, physical space, and technology. It starts with answering critical questions: How are people doing and what do they need? Who will be able to work remotely, and who might have to come in? How often? Codify the answers to these questions to formulate a plan to empower people for extreme flexibility, then provide guidance to employees as you experiment and learn.

Invest in space and technology to bridge the physical and digital worlds

Office space no longer stops at the office. Leaders must consider how to equip all workers with the tools they need to contribute — whether they’re working from home, the manufacturing floor, in the office, or on the go. Physical office space must be compelling enough to entice workers to commute in, and include a mix of collaboration and focus areas. Meeting rooms and team culture will need to evolve to ensure all voices are heard.

Combat digital exhaustion from the top

As we look to create a better future of work, addressing digital exhaustion must be a priority for leaders everywhere. It won’t be easy, but consider how to reduce employee workloads, embrace a balance of synchronous and asynchronous collaboration, and create a culture where breaks are encouraged and respected.

Prioritize rebuilding social capital and culture

Broadening our networks and building social capital takes effort in any work environment, but it’s even more difficult in a digital world. Teams must reframe network-building from a passive effort to a proactive one, encourage and reward managers to prioritize building social capital at work, and seek to create a culture where social support thrives.

Rethink employee experience to compete for the best and most diverse talent

The talent landscape has shifted, and employee expectations have changed. The best leaders will empathize with the unique needs of each group in their organization, and see remote work as a lever to attract the best and most diverse talent.

1 The number of email messages delivered to commercial and education customers via Microsoft Exchange Online in February, when compared to the same month last year, is up by over 40.6 billion.

2 Analysis of collaboration activity across Microsoft 365 tools from February 2020 to February 2021. This visualization is based on aggregated data, without personal or organization-identifying information.

3 This insight was derived from a global sample of 659,833 Glint survey responses by employees at 84 organizations around the world. These surveys were opt-in and conducted during the 2019 and 2020 calendar years.

Survey methodology

The Work Trend Index survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Edelman Data x Intelligence, among 31,092 full-time employed or self-employed workers across 31 markets between January 12, 2021 to January 25, 2021. This survey was 20 minutes in length and conducted online, in either the English language or translated into a local language across markets. At least 1,000 full-time workers were surveyed in each market, and global results have been aggregated across all responses to provide an average. Each market is evenly weighted within the global average. Each market was sampled to be representative of the full-time workforce across age, gender, and region across a mix of work environments (remote vs. non-remote, office settings vs. non-office settings, etc.), industries, company sizes, tenures, and job levels. Markets surveyed include: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, and Vietnam.

Privacy approach

Microsoft takes privacy seriously. We remove all personal and organization-identifying information, such as company name, from our data before analyzing it and creating reports. We never use customer content — such as information within an email, chat, document, or meeting — to produce reports. Our goal is to discover and share broad workplace trends that are anonymized by aggregating the data broadly from those trillions of signals that make up the Microsoft Graph.

As hybrid working becomes the new normal, what three things are effective managers doing differently?

Nathalie Regniers

Sr Product Marketing Manager

The pandemic has upended every part of our lives – our work certainly included. Early in the year we saw companies across the region pivot within a matter of days to enable remote working for members of staff – with leaders looking to keep workers safe while maintaining business continuity.  For most people, this represented a pretty dramatic shift from the 9-to-5 (give or take) office-based existence that started and ended with a commute and had been the norm for decades for many employees.

As many parts of the world are bracing for a second wave of the pandemic, we know from our customers that there is one big question: how do we reimagine our workforce so that teams remain agile, productive and creative in the midst of so much change and uncertainty?

To help answer that question, we commissioned a piece of research across 15 European markets in August 2020 and asked thousands of workers and employees about their experiences this year and their expectations of the future.

Key takeaway: regardless of the course of the pandemic, people want more flexible, remote ways of working to continue. Business leaders and employees both want a more hybrid approach, with time in the office balanced with remote working.

However, the experiences during lockdown have yielded some key learnings that every business can implement as they look to maximize the potential of remote and hybrid teams.

When asked about the pain points associated with remote ways of working, people in all countries and industries reported feeling a weaker sense of company culture, less team cohesion and less collaboration. This is a cultural challenge that has a big bottom-line impact.  We also saw that leaders reported far less innovation around core products and services. This stands to reason. After all, how can great new ideas thrive in an organization when people feel disconnected?

In looking at the companies that have managed to maintain culture and collaboration as well as innovation we see a huge difference in the way people work with their managers and leadership.

Here are three things managers in these companies are doing differently:

1. They empower people

Companies that have maintained innovation levels are much more likely to have employees who feel empowered to approach their jobs in their own ways, make decisions with confidence and speak their minds.

It’s no coincidence that these people also report that they feel like it’s okay to make mistakes. When Microsoft went through its own transformation, this was an important change for us. Getting beyond failure, embracing our growth mindset, and embracing at it as an opportunity to learn and get better, is absolutely essential for any company looking to maintain a strong pipeline of fresh thinking and bold ideas.

2. They maintain an open, honest dialogue with team members

  Managers in innovative companies seem to have a very wide-open door with their team members. It’s interesting to note that they are far more likely to recognize good work than their peers in less innovative cultures. Expressing appreciation is as simple as it powerful. But, let’s be honest: when you’re under tight deadlines, and feeling stressed – it’s all too easy to forget as we race through our days. Expressing gratitude is habit we can strengthen every day.

These managers are also twice as likely to provide regular feedback to their team members. But what’s especially telling in my opinion, is that they are far more likely to actively seek input from workers. This says a couple of things to me. One, is that this kind of dynamic underscores that these managers don’t pretend to have to have all the answers. This helps shape a culture in which it’s okay to seek help, and that collaboration is key to successful problem-solving. Secondly, it underscores to team members that their knowledge, experience and creativity is valued.

3. They actively protect people’s work/life balance

  Friends, colleagues, customers all have expressed the challenges they’ve faced maintaining a healthy balance with remote work now commonplace. The research backs this up: people are working longer days. When you can’t walk out of the office and head home, when does the working day actually end? It can be tempting to leave the laptop open and keep an eye on things. Or, agree to that super late (or early) meeting thinking “Well, I’ll be home anyway.”

Innovative companies have team leaders who work to make certain people don’t fall into this trap. They work with their people to ensure they are approaching their days in a way that promotes well-being while ensuring business needs are met. For example, they might limit calls and asks outside of normal business hours, or encourage people to approach their days working more flexibility, making time for children, fitness and hobbies.

In this new hybrid world of work, successful managers are approaching their jobs differently. They are delicately balancing people’s need for regular, open dialogue while at the same time allowing greater latitude in how people approach their roles. As importantly, they prioritize the human element of their role – celebrating people’s successes, and thinking not just about individuals’ performance, but their overall well-being too.

In short, successful teams will be those characterized by empathy, comradery and a collaborative spirit – and team leaders who protect and nurture these attributes.

To learn more about remote and hybrid teams please visit: https://aka.ms/rework

What we’ve learned about remote working

Top tips for smarter remote working with Microsoft Teams

How to run the most successful and secure meetings with Microsoft Teams

Report: Work Reworked

Download the research

Discover what the future of work looks in this guide to help you navigate the digital era.

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What executives are saying about the future of hybrid work

In the postpandemic future of work, nine out of ten organizations will be combining remote and on-site working, according to a new McKinsey survey of 100 executives across industries and geographies. 1 From December 2020 through January 2021, McKinsey surveyed and analyzed responses from 100 respondents at the C-suite, vice-president, and director level, evenly split among organizations based in Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the United States, and among a variety of industries. Company revenues ranged, on average, from $5.1 billion to $11.0 billion per year. The survey confirms that productivity and customer satisfaction have increased during the pandemic.

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A McKinsey Live event on ‘Getting hybrid work right: What employees are saying’

The following charts, drawn from our survey, offer insights for executives who are sorting out the particulars of the hybrid approach. A notable finding is that organizations with the biggest productivity increases during the pandemic have supported and encouraged “small moments of engagement” among their employees, moments in which coaching, mentorship, idea sharing, and coworking take place. These organizations are preparing for hybrid working by training managers for remote leadership, by reimagining processes, and by rethinking how to help employees thrive in their roles.

The future will be more hybrid. Prior to the COVID-19 crisis, the majority of organizations required employees to spend most of their time on-site. But as the pandemic eases, executives say that the hybrid model—in which employees work both remotely and in the office—will become far more common. The majority of executives expect that (for all roles that aren’t essential to perform on-site) employees will be on-site between 21 and 80 percent of the time, or one to four days per week.

Future vision. Although nine out of ten executives envision a hybrid model going forward, most have at best a high-level plan for how to carry it out—and nearly a third of them say that their organizations lack alignment on a high-level vision among the top team. Although another third of organizations have a more detailed vision in place, only one in ten organizations have begun communicating and piloting that vision.

Productive nonetheless. The survey also confirms that during the pandemic most organizations have seen rises in individual and team productivity and employee engagement, and, perhaps as a result of this increased focus and energy, a rise in the satisfaction of their customers as well.

But not every organization has experienced the same improvement. Take individual productivity. Some 58 percent of executives report improvements in individual productivity, but an additional third say that productivity has not changed. Lagging companies, which make up 10 percent of respondents, relate that individual productivity has declined during the pandemic. It’s important to note the high correlation between individual and team productivity: C-suite executives who say that individual productivity has improved are five times more likely to report that team productivity has risen too.

Making the small connections count. Why have some companies enjoyed higher productivity during the pandemic? According to our survey, they’re the ones supporting small connections between colleagues—opportunities to discuss projects, share ideas, network, mentor, and coach, for example. Two-thirds of productivity leaders report that these kinds of “microtransactions” have increased, compared with just 9 percent of productivity laggards. As executives look to sustain pandemic-style productivity gains with a hybrid model, they will need to design and develop the right spaces for these small interactions to take place.

Managing differently. Supporting small moments of connection requires subtle shifts in how managers work. Nearly all executives surveyed recognize that managing remotely differs from when all employees are on-site, but other subtleties may not be as apparent. Nuances can be seen in the more than half of productivity leaders that have trained their managers on how to lead teams more effectively. Only a third of productivity laggards have done the same. The emphasis on small connections suggests that organizations could better support managers  by, among other things, educating them about the positive and negative impact they have on the people who report to them, and by training managers on soft skills , such as providing and receiving feedback. Organizations can also explore novel ways to address the loss of empathy  that often accompanies gains in authority.

Experiment and iterate. Across organizations, executives already recognize the need to redesign processes to better support a remote workforce—with the majority having at least identified the processes that will require rethinking. But productivity leaders are more likely to continually iterate and tweak their processes as the context shifts. As organizations look to codify the hybrid model, there is evidence that the test-and-learn approach to process redesign will be an important enabler.

Reimagine hiring. Hiring is among the most crucial processes to reconsider in the hybrid world. Should organizations continue to hire within specific geographies, or should they open up their talent aperture beyond traditional recruiting locations, for instance? Should they conduct more remote interviews? During the pandemic, nearly two-thirds of organizations have moved in-person recruiting events and activities to remote settings, but only one in three have reimagined hiring from the ground up. Forty percent of productivity leaders, by contrast, have holistically redesigned their entire hiring process.

Rethink talent allocation. During the pandemic, nearly two-thirds of organizations have reassessed the number of people in each role and in each function in the company. But productivity leaders are more likely than middle performers and laggards to fall into this category. A select few leading companies have taken it even further and have gone beyond reassessing to actually implementing changes. As organizations redesign their hybrid future, matching the workforce with the right priorities could help spur productivity improvements.

Andrea Alexander is an associate partner in McKinsey’s Houston office, where Mihir Mysore is a partner; Rich Cracknell is a solution leader in the Silicon Valley office; Aaron De Smet is a senior partner in the New Jersey office; and Meredith Langstaff is an associate partner in the Washington, DC, office, where Dan Ravid is a research and knowledge fellow.

This article was edited by Lang Davison, an executive editor in the Seattle office.

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5 Challenges of Hybrid Work — and How to Overcome Them

• Martine Haas

Strategies to improve communication, coordination, connection, creativity, and culture.

Hybrid working arrangements can be daunting for those about to adopt them and challenging for those who already have. But the good news is that we’re learning quickly where the biggest obstacles lie and how to minimize them in advance and manage them as they come up. The most common challenges related to hybrid work fall under what the author calls the “5C challenges”: communication, coordination, connection, creativity, and culture. If you’re struggling to manage a hybrid team or workforce, start by understanding the five challenges, then use the author’s 5Cs checklist to assess where you’re at and where to go from there. It’s designed to help leaders tackle — and prioritize — the most common challenges of hybrid working.

One thing is clear about the future of work: At least in the near term — and possibly for much longer — hybrid work arrangements are going to be the norm for many organizations, in industries ranging from tech to pharmaceuticals to academia. There are good reasons why many companies and employees are excited about this mix of in-person and remote work — and equally good reasons why many feel trepidation about the shift.

• Martine Haas is the Lauder Chair Professor of Management at the Wharton School and Director of the Lauder Institute for Management & International Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She holds a PhD from Harvard University. Her research focuses on collaboration and teamwork in global organizations.

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Hybrid Work Model Likely to Be New Norm in 2021

But employees and employers disagree on how many days workers should be in the office

​The days of physically reporting to an office every day of the workweek are not likely to resume once the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Knowledge workers have become accustomed to working remotely, and splitting time between the office and home is expected to become the new normal, according to a new PwC report, It's Time to Reimagine Where and How Work Will Get Done .

But there is a disconnect between U.S. executives and employees over how many days workers will be in the office when they do return, most likely during the second quarter of 2021.

More than half (55 percent) of 1,200 workers surveyed between Nov. 24 and Dec. 5 said they prefer working remotely three days a week. Meanwhile, 68 percent of 133 U.S. executives said workers should be in the office at least three days a week, citing concerns that company culture will not survive a purely remote work model. A survey Gartner conducted with 127 company leaders in 2020 found that only 30 percent of those leaders were concerned about maintaining corporate culture with a hybrid work model .

But an organization's culture is not going to go away if people work remotely, noted Deniz Caglar, a partner at PwC and co-author of Fit for Growth: A Guide to Strategic Cost Cutting, Restructuring, and Renewal (Wiley, 2016). 

"Your culture is not your office; it's what you do as an organization, how you work together. What you do does not change because you're working virtually," he said.

Some employers, though, fear their organization will be at a disadvantage if their employees continue working remotely while competitors bring their employees back to the office, Caglar said. They also worry their remote employees' engagement and loyalty will wane if those employees continue to work away from the office.

Bringing employees back was a higher post-COVID-19 priority for U.S. respondents than for their global counterparts in Canada, China, Germany and Japan, according to a 2021 report from The Conference Board, which surveyed 1,538 C-suite executives after the November elections. Among the U.S. executives, 22 percent said returning workers to the office was a priority. Only 5 percent of respondents from the other countries said the same.

Organizations should consider one critical question, the report said: "Is the culture you had, and perhaps want to preserve, the right culture for this new environment?"

Making the Hybrid Model Work

This new model can work, PwC said in its report, but it is "a complicated way to organize the workweek and is likely to transform a company's culture, employee engagement , the way the work gets done and how office space is used."

Given the trends accelerated by the pandemic—the success of remote work on a large scale, the migration of workers to less-expensive locales, the redesigning of office space to accommodate social distancing—executive leaders need to quickly articulate what working in the office is meant to accomplish.

"That clarity will enable them to reimagine how and where their work gets done, how much office space they need and how to support employees to be effective in any work environment," PwC said in its report.

Weigh the following factors to develop a successful hybrid model:

The nature of the employees' work and the specific jobs they perform. 

Some employees need to be physically present to receive mail or deal with sensitive information kept in the office. Meeting with clients, showcasing products and services, and collaborating on projects also are good reasons to be present; 87 percent of employees in PwC's survey said team collaboration and building relationships were the top reasons for being onsite. But employees who spend four to six hours by themselves at their desks—such as analysts poring over Excel sheets—can just as easily work elsewhere, Caglar pointed out.

Personality.

"The reality is that some jobs just don't work remotely and some people don't work well remotely," said Cynthia Spraggs, author of  How to Work from Home and Actually Get SH*T Done  (Advantage Media Group, 2020). She also is chief executive officer of Virtira, an online company in Nova Scotia, Canada, that helps other businesses work virtually.

Spraggs noted the difference between employees who thrive while working from home and those who are happier commuting to a brick-and-mortar office. The latter derive strong social relationships from work and need the camaraderie of being in an office. There also are people for whom work is their life, she added, and who feel compelled to be in the office.

"These are the ones who pull down 80-hour weeks to move up the ladder. They stay glued to their boss and likely are the ones who just won't function well at home." 

The best candidates for working remotely—regardless of whether they are introverts or extroverts—have "passions and interests outside of work. They work efficiently and are strong performers because they see work as a means to fund their life," Spraggs said.

Employee tenure or experience level. 

Consider whether an employee has been newly promoted and needs to be in the office to work closely with his or her supervisor. Also, is the employee someone new to the company who would benefit from being onsite? Pointing out that new employees will have little personal contact with departments and existing team members under this new model, the authors of The Conference Board report noted that "leaders will now need to ensure that all [employees] have a sense of belonging and that no group is more valued, supported or developed than another."

Members of Generation Z—the oldest of whom were born in 1997—in general prefer being in the office, various surveys have shown. They are new to the professional work world, and their social life often is intertwined with work. A  Fortune -SurveyMonkey  poll of 2,802 adults conducted July 17-21 found that  members of this generation are more likely to report that their productivity has dropped since working from home .

Seventy-five percent of executives anticipate that at least half of their office employees will return by July. Sixty-one percent of employees expect to spend half their time in the office by then. How soon offices open up likely will depend on the rollout of vaccines; firms may move quickly to bring workers back to the office as vaccines become available or slowly if vaccinations are not administered as soon as expected. Employees working at home with school-age children also may want a slower return to the office.

" Take real stock [of] what your employees are asking ," Caglar advised employers, "and how you can [accommodate them] without hurting your businesses' performance." Recognize that some people don't need to be in the office.

"Can you provide that flexibility?" he asked. "It can be a strategic tool for recruitment and retention. You may lose some talent if you're not keeping up with the times."

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Leading your hybrid workforce into the new normal.

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Founder,  Alliance for Leadership Acceleration  and the LEAP-Leadership Acceleration Program. Leadership + organizational effectiveness expert.

Has the state of the American workplace ever been more in flux? Decades ago, once you were hired, you went to work. That generally meant going to a physical location, being provided with a workspace and equipment, and assimilating into the culture and routines of your surroundings.

Today you can get hired, onboarded, trained and sent into action without ever leaving your home. Remote work was growing in prevalence before the Covid-19 pandemic, but the ongoing public health crisis has accelerated the trend exponentially. And many organizations aren’t looking back, encouraging — even requiring — employees to work from home.

However, that’s not true in every case. Many employers are striving to establish a “best of both worlds” workplace, whereby those who wish or need to work on-site can do so, while those who prefer or have grown accustomed to working remotely can do that.

If your organization’s leaders are struggling with a “hybrid” workforce, as it’s being called, they’re not alone.

Recognize the differences.

One reaction to suddenly having a hybrid workforce may be to “normalize” the situation one way or the other. That is, treat a hybrid workforce as if everyone works on-site and nothing has changed or, vice versa, treat all employees as if they’re working remotely.

Although it’s important to treat everyone equitably, don’t ignore the intrinsic differences between the two. Look carefully at which positions are best suited for each.

A couple of key terms that come into play are synchronous and asynchronous time. Synchronous is when employees must synchronize their schedules for meetings or collaborative work. Asynchronous time is when employees can work on their own.

Job roles that involve mostly asynchronous time are well-suited to remote work, where an employee can create a comfortable workspace and work during optimal times. For positions that entail a substantial amount of synchronous time, working on-site tends to make more sense.

Software development organizations may tell us that their products enable seamless and incredibly productive collaboration, but human psychology has long indicated that in-person collaboration is more natural and intuitive. In fact, my spouse is a software engineer who was dismayed when his employer announced last year that the developers had proven they can work collaboratively from home and therefore would NOT be invited back to the office when it opened. Clearly, employees can do great things together online, but physical work locations and personal preferences can still serve a useful purpose as places of collaboration and socialization.

Establish clear expectations.

Once a hybrid workforce is in place, establish clear expectations regarding “nuts and bolts” issues such as work hours and communication. These things tended to be implicitly understood when everyone worked on-site — you showed up and left at a certain time and communication was handled face-to-face, on the phone or via email.

In a hybrid environment, leaders need to explicitly discuss these items with employees. Start with work hours, which have evolved quite a bit since the old days of “nine to five.”

Remote workers tend to prefer and, indeed, rely on flexible hours to accommodate childcare and other inevitable home-based issues. Some on-site employees may still wish to adhere to a traditional schedule, but others might demand flex hours if that’s what is available to those off-site.

There’s no single solution. Leaders need to recognize the distinctive cultures of their organizations, build consensus regarding what will work fairly and optimally for everyone and keep their eyes on the prize: productivity.

Another critical issue is communication. With people in different locations working flexible schedules, this can be a huge challenge. Leadership needs to set clear norms and expectations regarding:

• Timeliness of responses (immediate vs. within a day vs. within a week)

• Which communication channel to use when (video call vs. phone call vs. email vs. instant message)

• Who needs to be involved (whole organization vs. department vs. work group vs. individual)

All too often, communication is left to chance or open to interpretation. A hybrid workforce demands an open and unambiguous accounting of how information will be exchanged. Leaders need to enforce the rules and remind staff when necessary.

Master technology and build trust.

The importance of technology cannot be overstated. There are many remote business communication platforms in play these days — Microsoft Teams, Slack, Google Chat, Zoom. Leaders need to learn all the features of whichever one your organization uses and demonstrate this knowledgeability to employees. You may want to invest in additional training to ensure a high level of expertise.

On the flip side, there’s the human factor of the equation. Today’s employers face greater challenges regarding trust. Employees can and will acquire information from many different sources. They may distrust their employers’ motives in a time when organizations must make some very difficult decisions.

Leaders of hybrid workforces must overcome the even greater challenge of managing employees in different locations and time zones, on various schedules, who may be comfortable with differing modes of communication. It’s not easy! Remember that trust is based on the mutual understanding that employees will deliver high-quality work while employers, as demonstrated by leadership, will act with clarity, transparency and honesty.

It’s all about flexibility.

One thing’s for sure: hybrid workforces aren’t going anywhere. In 2020, 81% of more than 4,000 employees surveyed by online job board FlexJobs said they’d be more loyal to their employers if they were offered flexible work options.

The keyword there is “flexible” — many employees value the ability to work from home, but many others still enjoy the experience of in-person collaboration. It’s the ongoing challenge of every leadership team to find the right balance.

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Hybrid work is the new normal, IT and business leaders say

Photo by  Armin Rimoldi  from  Pexels

Dive Brief:

• Remote and hybrid work will likely remain the norm, according to a report released June 23 by Foundry .  Of IT and business decision-makers surveyed, the majority said that hybrid or remote work is a “permanent solution” for their businesses.
• Additionally, when asked where their employees would work in the future, only 29% said office only. Meanwhile, 41% said their employees would work in a hybrid format while 30% said their companies went remote only.
• Particularly from a technology perspective, concerns around remote and hybrid work remain; 51% of those surveyed cited efficient collaboration concerns, 47% cited morale concerns and 38% cited security maintenance concerns.

Dive Insight:

Employees have said they largely want to keep their current work arrangements. For instance, 62% of workers currently working remotely would like to remain that way rather than move to a hybrid environment (32%) or go fully in-person (6%), according to March survey results from Yoh.

Demand for hybrid work may be one reason workers are leaving in droves , Gartner analysis said earlier this year. But workers and managers may be starkly misaligned on who can work remotely, Gartner said, meaning HR may be responsible for helping leaders understand hybrid work’s value to the employee experience.

Hybrid work isn’t always smooth sailing, however; a TinyPulse survey from October 2021 noted that many workers called it the “most emotionally exhausting” arrangement compared to other formats. Employees are also increasingly likely to fall for advanced phishing attacks amid hybrid work, a Tessian survey from earlier this year noted – particularly those attacks that imitate messages from senior executives.

Employers can avoid some common mistakes to ensure success with the adoption of hybrid work, experts previously explained to HR Dive. One common mistake: Don’t assume managers who excel in-person are automatically succeeding in a hybrid environment. HR can provide training and support so that managers and direct reports alike feel supported at work.

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