Most IT decision makers today believe that hybrid working will soon be the new norm. At the same time, companies are encouraging their staff to return to the office.
According to the “Future of Work 2022” study, carried out by the technology marketing firm Foundry, companies must support new forms of collaboration and reshape the experience of their employees.
Hybrid working is a must, especially in larger companies
For this survey, Foundry interviewed 401 IT and business decision makers in the United States. In total, 94% of the organizations surveyed have implemented a hybrid working structure. And 72% of them believe that the attitude towards hybrid working is now more positive.
The study also indicates that 69% of IT decision makers believe the increase in remote working is impacting office space planning as well as IT staff and staff in general. Some 41% of respondents believe that hybrid working will remain in place in the future, while 29% believe that working will only be in person, and 30% only remotely.
If hybrid working seems more realistic today, there are nevertheless important differences between the way organizations apprehend it, according to their size. As Foundry’s study reveals, companies with more than 1,000 employees are more likely to sustain hybrid working than smaller organizations. Some 49% of respondents foresee a hybrid future, compared to 33% of small businesses with less than 1,000 employees.
Telework not yet generalized
Retail companies, governments and service organizations are much less likely to consider hybrid working for their future. In the high-tech sector, 46% of respondents consider telework to be acceptable, compared to 30% for all categories. The findings are consistent with several other major surveys suggesting hybrid working will be the way of the future. But how to best approach this change remains up for debate.
Microsoft recently released a report, “2022 Work Trend Index”, which indicates that 38% of hybrid employees believe their biggest challenge will be knowing when and why to come to the office. Only 28% of companies also have team agreements in place to clarify when this should happen. In short, leaders need to make the office worth commuting to.
Foundry’s research reveals another interesting trend: 60% of respondents have invested—or plan to invest—in security controls like multi-factor authentication, endpoint detection and response, and VPNs.
Increase in the use of collaborative tools
Nearly half of companies surveyed (49%) believe that remote working and hybrid working have changed the way their customers choose to interact with them. In particular, they use collaborative work tools. The most affected organizations are those in the education sector (65%), high technology (57%) and services (61%).
Collaboration remains a major problem for many companies, underline the authors of the study carried out by Foundry. More than half (51%) cite it as a challenge, with organizations in manufacturing (72%) and retail (80%) more likely to worry about how to support cooperation between their employees. Additionally, a third of respondents are struggling to figure out the best way to run hybrid meetings and 30% are concerned about reduced employee productivity.
On a positive note, given the increase in resignations and difficulties in filling vacancies, 42% of respondents agree that the telecommuting option has made it easier to recruit for open positions. For organizations that have opted for full remote work, 64% note that it is easier to attract talent.
Source: ZDNet.com