The past four years have seen tremendous changes in the way organizations get work done. Today, most employees want choices in where, when and how they work, with most expecting a mix of in-office and remote working arrangements.
The Goldilocks principle: Hybrid is a work model that’s “just right” for the majority of businesses worldwide. This is the consensus of a global survey conducted by Zoom, together with Reworked Insights. Despite the headlines, the report says that companies requiring employees to be fully onsite or fully remote are the outliers, with 64% of employees saying their companies offer some form of hybrid work.
Hybrid is anything but vanilla.
Like ice cream, hybrid comes in many flavors, and companies are choosing the best one that fits their needs and culture. The top three models include:
- Scheduled hybrid (25%) – employees have set days or times when they must work remotely or in office.
- Flextime hybrid (22%) – employees can choose the hours they work, but they must still come into the office for certain meetings.
- Role-based hybrid (5%) – only some types of employees have the option to work remotely based on the nature of their job responsibilities.
Flexibility wins: The Zoom survey asked employees if they were to change jobs, which workplace model they would consider in a new employer. The answers highlight employees’ clear preference, with just 75% choosing a flexible work arrangement, including hybrid, and just 25% opting for in-office.
The reason? Productivity. The majority of employees across all age groups said they get more work done in a hybrid/remote setting than at the workplace.
“If managed right, letting employees work from home two or three days a week still gets you the level of mentoring, culture-building, and innovation that you want,” said Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom, who led the research.
Show me the data: A major study reviewed in Stanford Report finds that employees who work from home two days a week are just as productive and as likely to be promoted as their fully office-based peers.
Hybrid, it turns out, is a win for employers as well. Researchers found that resignations fell by 33% among workers who shifted from working full-time in the office to a hybrid schedule, saving millions of dollars.
The report counters the argument made by some high-profile business leaders that the costs of remote work outweigh the benefits.
“If managed right, letting employees work from home two or three days a week still gets you the level of mentoring, culture-building, and innovation that you want,” said Stanford economist Nicholas Bloom, who led the research.
Find Hybrid Work Success with Georgia Commute Options
Eager to set up your hybrid program for success? Need a third-party evaluation through surveys, focus group meetings and overall strategy of your program? Need training for your managers and teleworkers? Ready to schedule a meeting? The Georgia Commute Options FlexWork consulting team has decades of experience in helping companies customize their remote and hybrid work programs to best suit their unique circumstance.
Email us at telework@gacommuteoptions.com