https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2021/11/08/the-fight-over-the-hybrid-future-of-work
With the lockdowns from the Covid-19 pandemic, it lead to a change in the way the world went through their everyday life. Almost everything went virtual in the blink of an eye. In the spring of 2020, about 60% of total working hours were conducted from peoples living rooms, kitchens, and home offices. It was an experiment that has never been done before.
Employers found that workers reported higher levels of satisfaction and happiness when they were able to work from home. Surveys suggest that workers would like to work from home 50% of the time compared to a 5% of the time before the pandemic.
Managers done seem as happy about remote working. Firms expect that 15% of the work is to be done from home which is half of what workers would actually like. This is because of the perception that workers are more productive in the office and it creates a better company culture.
The answer to this is a 'hybrid' approach. Research suggests that a mixture of home and office can actually create the highest efficiency and productivity. Firms have many incentives to offer hybrid work especially fighting to retain talent (human capital). The shift to hybrid work will now require a different set of skills for workers/managers. It will be essential that workers/managers are able to communicate well using digital tools.
There are already signs of hybrid paying off. Surveys by Gallup found that employee engagement is near an all-time high. Further changes will also be made in 2022 to encourage employees to come into the office more by creating a better working environment and perks such as fitness centers and better food. Overall this will create a better environment for workers.
4 comments:
As someone who has a hybrid job, there are many things to consider other than just happiness and efficiency. When you consider transportation costs, time spent on transportation, and office materials, there could be a foreseeable economic impact of this transportation. Tech companies will see a big boost, but corporate real estate companies will likely feel a hit as more and more people move out of the office while they stay at home.
It definitely will be interesting to see studies of how productive employees actually are when working from home. You got to think that most workers on average cannot perform to expectations when working from home given more room to slack off where as in the office. Im intrigue to see how many companies look to convert fully remote and eliminate the cost for a physical office. In addition it has been interesting as I apply for jobs the amount of employers offering fully remote positions that you are able to work in from across the country. This has to be one of the more positive things to come out of the pandemic and will be interesting to see if this trend continues in the future.
Flexibility to work the way people perform best will become more common as I think there has been a realization by employers they might not need to control every aspect of work. I also advocate for the transition to hybrid work as it builds a sense of trust between workers and managers to get the job done however the employees sees fit.
I think that in order for a worker to be most productive and happy, they need to be able to choose the best workspace for them. A hybrid workplace is an interesting take on the issue of work productivity. I think that for some, a hybrid workplace would be very beneficial. For others, it might ruin the escape of going home after a long work day.
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