AT&T Survey Shows 72% Of Companies Do Not Have Proper Hybrid Work Strategies In Place

Insufficient workplace innovation, oversight, and shifts in culture were the obstacles that kept companies from achieving a successful hybrid work model.

AT&T released the findings of a new survey to better understand what companies are doing to address the new needs for the future of work.

“The State of the Industry: Future of Work” survey, which was conducted on behalf of AT&T and Dubber Corporation Limited, featured responses of mostly director-level professionals that represent over one million employees.

One of the biggest insights gained from senior executive respondents was the mass adoption of hybrid work models, which have grown in popularity over the last few years. 

However, the challenges of this model have also come to light during this emergence. For example, workers that come into the office a few times a week to collaborate may find that the colleagues they need to work alongside aren’t in the office that day, making the often long commute pointless.

Although hybrid remains the preferred choice for businesses, 72% seem to lack a concrete strategy to optimize this arrangement.

According to the survey, insufficient workplace innovation, oversight, and shifts in culture were the three obstacles that keep them from achieving a successful hybrid work model. However, by investing into these factors, firms can fully optimize this arrangement.

In fact, the absence of real strategy led respondents to say that leadership is “exploring ways to overcome barriers caused by the new model of work, such as building culture remotely and the application of technology—specifically artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)—in critical business use-cases.”

The survey shows that 81% of respondents believe that hybrid work will be the dominant work model by 2024, but 76% agreed that their company did not have the proper key performance indicators (KPIs) to support hybrid working.

“It’s clear that a successful talent program now requires a hybrid work policy, but that policy needs to be supported by a strategic tech-first cultural reset, to ensure business growth and competition,” said Alicia Dietsch, senior vice president of business marketing at AT&T.

This will be key in succeeding in the future of work, with 100% of respondents stating that hybrid work will bring in young talent.