Despite
this range of approaches, nearly every leader today has the same
question: Is the new emphasis on flexibility and well-being a temporary
pendulum swing, or the beginning of our new normal?
Microsoft’s latest Work Trend Index
compiles input from 31,000 people in 31 countries, labor trends from
LinkedIn, and trillions of productivity signals from Microsoft 365 to
offer a closer look at the year ahead, highlight what employees truly
want, and help leaders chart a path forward.
What
we found is the past two years left an indelible mark on the psyche of
workers, altering their expectations and fundamentally shifting the way
work gets done. Three or six months of remote work could have been
dismissed as a blip, but the duration of our collective, lived
experience means there’s no going back.
This
is a pivotal moment, where leadership matters more than ever. Those who
embrace a new mindset and shift cultural norms will best position their
people and their business for long-term success. Adapting to the influx
of change in this business environment is no easy feat. Our report lays
out five key trends to help leaders empower their teams to thrive in
the year ahead.
Employees have different priorities when it comes to work and life.
When
it comes to work, employees are redefining their “worth it” equation:
what they want from work and what they’re willing to give in return.
Compared to before the pandemic, 47% of employees are more likely to put
family and personal life over work. And 53% are more likely to
prioritize their health and well-being — that figure rises to 55% for
parents and 56% for women.
These aren’t empty words — the Great Reshuffle
is far from over. Fifty-two percent of Gen Z and Millennials are
considering changing employers this year (up 3% year-over-year), and 18%
of all respondents quit their job in the past 12 months, with
well-being, mental health, work-life balance, and lack of flexible work
hours cited as top reasons.
When
asked what they wanted from a new employer, topping the list was
positive culture (46%), with well-being benefits (42%), a sense of
purpose and meaning (40%), flexible hours (38%), and more than two
weeks’ vacation time (35%) not far behind.
Adapting
to these new expectations is not only good for people, it can be a
competitive advantage that ultimately boosts the bottom line, allowing
organizations to empower current employees and attract new talent to
their ranks.
Managers feel wedged between leadership and employee expectations.
As
the people closest to the unique needs of employees, managers have a
key role. However, they’re feeling stuck between new employee
expectations and leaders’ decisions. More than half of the managers we
surveyed (54%) feel their leadership is out of touch with employees.
Case in point: Our 2021 study
told us 73% of employees want flexible work options to stick around
long term. But this year, 50% of leaders say they either require or plan
to require employees to be in the office full time.
With
more than two years of remote or hybrid work under their belt,
employees feel they haven’t just survived flexible work — they’ve gotten
pretty good at it. Eighty percent believe their productivity has stayed
the same or improved, in stark contrast to 54% of business leaders who
fear their team has been less productive since moving to remote or
hybrid.
Managers
are in a prime position to see and understand both sides of the
equation, but all that insight doesn’t add up to much if they’re not
empowered to act. With 74% of managers saying they don’t have the
influence or resources they need to make changes on behalf of their
team, there’s a clear gap that needs to be addressed.
Leaders need to make the office worth the commute.
We
used to equate the office with work, but now that we’ve proved work can
happen from just about anywhere, what role does the office play? Many
organizations have been clear in encouraging employees to come back in,
but what’s been less clear is the why. If leaders don’t get this right, they’re going to risk employees giving up on the notion of hybrid completely.
In
fact, 51% of employees who are currently working in a hybrid model say
they’re considering going fully remote in the year ahead. It seems after
a year of an almost-hybrid model, they’re just not convinced hybrid can
work for them. Thirty-eight percent of them say their greatest
challenge is knowing when or why to come into the office, and only 28%
of them have a team agreement that answers those fundamental questions.
It’s not just getting employees into
the office — it’s making the most of their time, especially in hybrid
meetings. Despite the fact 44% of hybrid employees and 43% of remote
attendees don’t feel included in meetings, just 27% of organizations
have established new hybrid meeting etiquette to ensure everyone feels
included and engaged.
To
make the office worth the commute and to create an engaging experience
for everyone, leaders need to be intentional about the who, where, and
why of in-person gathering and set new meeting etiquette that gives
everyone a seat at the table.
Flexible work doesn’t have to mean “always on.”
Many of us have felt like
we’ve been working more than ever since early 2020, and our data proves
it. Looking at anonymized productivity patterns in Microsoft 365, we’ve
seen a steady uptick in the average workday span (+13%), after-hours
and weekend work (+28%, +14%, respectively), time in meetings (+252%),
and chats sent (+32%). It’s a rising tide that’s not sustainable.
However,
there are promising signs that employees are being more intentional
with their time and reshaping their workdays. Compared to last year,
meetings start later on Mondays and wrap earlier on Fridays, and fewer
meetings take place during the lunch hour. People are taking much-needed
time off, with a 10% year-over-year increase in out-of-office calendar
blocks. Employees are also finding ways to recreate the value of short
hallway conversations, with a rise in 15-minute ad-hoc calls, which now
make up about 60% of all Teams meetings.
While
these are promising signs of individual efforts to maintain balance, to
make flexible work sustainable, teams must set new norms that establish
boundaries so one person’s flexibility doesn’t become another’s “always
on.”
Rebuilding social capital looks different in a hybrid world.
We’ve
all felt the effects of remote work on our workplace relationships, and
our data reinforces it. While 58% of hybrid employees have been able to
maintain thriving relationships with their direct teams over the past
year, only half of those who are fully remote can say the same, and even
fewer (42%) have a strong relationship with those outside of their
immediate team. Newly onboarded employees also stand out as a group who
will need more support: They have weaker workplace relationships, and
56% say they’re likely to consider changing jobs in the year ahead.
Organizations
cannot see a return to the office as the only way to rebuild the social
capital we’ve lost in the past two years. By creating the time and
space for relationship building to happen and encouraging teams
(especially remote and new employees) to prioritize networking and
in-person connection, employees can make up lost ground.
The
people returning to the office are not the same as those who left in
March 2020. The biggest change is their expectations. These past two
years have made a lasting imprint that will be felt for years to come.
As leaders navigate the ripple effects, a willingness to adapt and
embrace new ways of thinking and working will be a competitive advantage
that sets thriving organizations at the head of the pack.
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