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People around the world have varying opinions about the future of work, and organizations have been left with the task of preparing their workplace for an uncertain future. How can organizations best prepare themselves to be flexible and successful in the face of unknown disruptors?
Zoom, in partnership with Reworked INSIGHTS, surveyed more than 600 IT and C-suite leaders and nearly 1,900 knowledge workers across the globe. Responses were equally divided between North America, EMEA and APAC. We explored peoples’ views on different working styles, productivity levels across styles, the impact of generative AI on how we work, and other topics related to the future of work. These findings help us understand how work is evolving and explore how organizations can best prepare themselves to be successful and agile in the future.
Note: Except where noted, data points are taken from the entire set of survey responses.
Hybrid Workplaces Are Growing in Popularity
Even as many workplace experts and leaders boldly claim that the future of work is mostly in-office or mostly remote, the truth is that hybrid has come out as a clear winner. Both leaders and employees lean toward hybrid workplaces. The specific type of hybrid model varies by company or individual, including models like flextime hybrid (where employees can choose the hours they work but must still come into the office for certain meetings), and scheduled hybrid (where employees have set days or times when they must work remotely or in the office).
Organizations choose hybrid models for many reasons; the survey indicates that this way of working helps workers increase productivity and companies attract top talent. Leaders appreciate how flexibility improves both the employee experience and the overall productivity of their workforce.
Employees generally prefer more flexible, hybrid models as well. When asked what working styles they would consider in a new employer, the largest percentage of employees (36%) would prefer to “work from anywhere.” What’s more, most employees (84%) say they get more work done in a hybrid/remote setting than in-office/onsite.
Nothing Is Set in Stone: The Workplace Continues to Evolve
Even as many workplaces settle into various hybrid models that work best for them, the workplace is still evolving. Most (75%) plan to change their model in the next two years and 82% of these organizations would change the model to be even more flexible.
Organizations haven’t even agreed on a standard nomenclature for hybrid workplaces yet; it’s still too new of a trend. Less than half (37%) use the term “hybrid work,” while a quarter (27%) use the term “flexible work.” Others use a variety of less common terms like “agile work” or “work from anywhere.”
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Employees’ preferences are evolving, too. While they have generally embraced hybrid work, many (58%) believe their preferences will change over time based on their life circumstances. We asked employees the open-ended question, “Why do you think your preferred working arrangement might change in the future?” and many employees worldwide cited stage-of-life changes like starting a family and getting closer to retirement as influencing factors.
Embrace Technology to Prepare for the Evolving Future
Regardless of workstyle, employees require remote work-friendly tech solutions and tools that make collaborative work easy and seamless — and are struggling to make do with current resources. Most employees (75%) agree that the tools and technology their organization currently uses for remote work need improving. Further, 72% also agree that their organization needs new tools or technologies to support remote working. It’s clear that organizations' tech stacks are not meeting employees’ needs
There’s an opportunity here to address employee concerns while also developing a more modern and future-ready tech stack. Generative AI can make a huge impact for leaders trying to improve the digital workplace. We asked leaders an open-ended question about what the next change in their workplace model would be, and integrating AI more proactively was a common answer. Some respondents stressed that adopting AI could help them enhance the hybrid work model, while others highlighted how AI can help their company grow. Currently, just 6% of leaders say their organization does not use AI, and of the remaining 94%, most (84%) say that the integration of AI has positively impacted productivity. Generative AI will shape how the future of work looks, and organizations that are proactive about adopting it strategically will set themselves up for success.
Lessons for Leaders
Understanding workplace trends and innovations helps prepare leaders to make well-informed decisions in the future. These global studies can help leaders around the world design workplace strategies that work best for their organizations. Based on these findings, Zoom offers best practices to help leaders create optimal work environments:
- Embrace hybrid models, but don’t forget to also stay open to new working styles and explore what styles work best for your workforce.
- Focus on improving your technology infrastructure and integrating generative AI.
- Take employee feedback seriously and take their evolving preferences into account to build a flexible, future-ready workplace.
Check out Zoom’s white paper to learn more. With the right forward-thinking strategies, leaders can help their people thrive in this new world of work.
