Hybrid working is here to stay - 7 urgent trends every leader needs to know
Seven urgent trends every business leader needs to know in 2021
This new Microsoft Worktrends 2021 report resonates with so much of what I’m seeing and hearing with my clients also. #Hybridworking by its very nature assumes that the mix of working from home and working from an office location is here to stay.
Therefore we need to proactively manage the experiences of both parties. Those who want to continue working from home and those that are craving going back into the office.
Love to hear which ones resonate most with your experiences.
1) Flexible work is here to stay
73% of employees want flexible remote options to stay. They want the freedom to choose where and when they work.
This is the age of hyper-personalisation and employees want to work in partnership with employers to create their own experience.
Even if local regulations open up and ‘allow’ more people back into the office, employees don't want and don’t see the need to go back full time everyday.
2) Leaders are out of touch and need a wake-up call
61% of leaders say they’re thriving right now, compared with 33% of Single employees and 44% of working mums and 46% of married people.
Therefore leaders views about what is needed may not be providing the most relevant insights.
It is really important right now to be listening to employees and talking to them about what they need to both survive and thrive, don’t assume one size fits all.
3) High productivity is masking an exhausted workforce
All metrics of online time have increased! No matter what level you are in an organisation, working from home is both more tiring AND more productive.
With no business travel time, no commute, no office chit chat or coffee runs most of that time is being channeled into many more hours of work with often no transition time between work and home life.
Great for efficient but bad for personal wellbeing and exhaustion. People are not taking holiday and ‘always on’ is storing up burnout for organisations if they don’t support employee wellbeing more proactively.
4) Gen Z is at risk and will need to be re-energised
18-25 years are either surviving or struggling. The networking and connection that most people enjoy to balance hard work at that stage of their careers has been completed stripped out of their day to day experience.
Ensuring Gen Z feels a sense of purpose and wellbeing is an urgent business priority in the shift to hybrid working.
Finding opportunities for Gen Z to connect and build their social wellbeing is equally important.
5) Shrinking network are endangering innovation
Teams are more siloed and less able to connect and collaborate. Lost connections = lost ideas and group think sets in.
We can’t wait for everyone to be back in the office for collaboration to happen.
Finding ways for employees to connect online, share ideas and keep building your innovation muscle is critical.
6) Authenticity will spur productivity and wellbeing
A tough year has made work more human and authentic as people have been forced to share and lean on each other.
17-23% of employees have cried with a co-worker in 2020.
Employees want this authenticity to remain and deepen and be able to bring their wholeselves to work
7) Talent is everywhere in a hybrid world
46% of people surveyed are planning to move to a new location this year.
Many roles are now location agnostic and this if managed well enables organisations to build a high-performing diverse team from a limitless pool of talent anywhere in the world, anywhere in any location.
This is also a talent risk, if you are not able to give your employees the opportunities to work from anywhere, they will find roles which do offer them this flexibility.
We will continue to work from home, from the office and everywhere in between - check out this great video below on The Hybrid Workplace.
