The past year saw the workforce switch from one extreme (the traditional 9 to 5) to another (working from home full-time).
While the transition to remote work was mostly due to necessity because of the global health crisis, the future of work will likely situate itself somewhere in the middle.
According to data from New Future Forum, the majority of knowledge workers are anticipating a more hybrid future moving forward, with only 17% stating they want to return to the office full-time and 20% stating they want to work remotely full-time.
At a global online brainstorm for IBM employees last year, 60% of staffers said they would prefer to be in the office at least one to three days each week and 72% said they view the office as a place for collaboration and team activities.
For IBM and Slack, this proved that they had to commit to offering a more hybrid model in the future. However, the firms understand that in order to achieve the best outcome, this arrangement will need to be tweaked along the way.
A decentralized team can lead to loss in communication and hinder the flow of work throughout various teams. However, time can help workers get in sync and allow organizations to reap the benefits of this work model, such as greater diversity and increased employee engagement.
To ensure a health transition to hybrid working, leaders will need to clearly and consistently communicate with employees about their expectations.
