Hybrid work arrangements, where the employee spends part of their time remote and part on a job site, have grown in popularity since the COVID pandemic. Today, 63% of high-growth companies use these work models. Like any work arrangement, there are pros and cons to a mixed work environment. But is hybrid work really going to stick around? Let’s look at the statistics about hybrid work and what it can do for your business.
What is the Future of Hybrid Work?
What’s Happening with Hybrid Work?
Google Workspace commissioned Economist Impact to survey a global population to determine attitudes about hybrid work. They state, “We already knew that the pandemic had fundamentally changed the world of work, but the survey emphasizes the scale, reach, and longevity of these changes.”
For the study, they defined hybrid work as “not just about different locations, but also different timings and different schedules.” They describe the new work continuum as:
- The traditional model of everyone in the office from 9 to 5.
- Hybrid models that split time between the office and home.
- Remote workers who never visit an office.
According to the study, over 75% of participants said that hybrid work models will be the standard in their organizations within the next three years. But 70% of them point out they had never worked remotely before the pandemic. What do people think about this big change in their work lives?
How Do We View Hybrid Work?
Employees say that they like hybrid work for two reasons:
- First, because they are more productive at home;
- Second, because working from home all the time can be incredibly isolating.
A two-year study from Stanford is often cited now as the definitive ruling on whether remote work is productive. They found a 13% productivity increase in the workforce when they weren’t disrupted with a commute to an office. They also needed fewer breaks, took less time off, and accomplished 4% more work compared to in-office peers.
But here’s the problem. Remote work can also make you lonely, isolated, and burnt out. Forbes cites some major employers who, after COVID, called workers back to the office for “better impromptu collaboration.” From Google to Best Buy and Yahoo, some employers have discarded the remote model to combat the isolation and siloed nature of a fully remote employee. Still other organizations are trying for the best of both worlds with a hybrid approach.
But is Hybrid Work Here to Stay?
There’s been a substantial change in how we view work since COVID as evidenced by The Great Resignation, where 47 million people quit their jobs last year. Today, 64% of the workforce would consider quitting their jobs if they were asked to work full-time in an office. Remote work arrangements are complicated enough for employers to navigate, but there is increasing pressure when you consider hybrid work arrangements. Changes to how you account for employee time as well as how compliance rules affect the remote worker are all challenges. What if an employee works in another jurisdiction at home and them comes to an office to work? How does that affect taxes? These are all questions that employers grapple as we enter this new era of hybrid work.
Has Your Company Gone Hybrid?
FoxHire helps employers navigate these challenges. As an employer of record (EOR), we have the tools to handle all of your employee-related functions. We can take the risk out of these new employment models. Call on us to find out how we can help.
