The State of Organizations 2023 - Flipbook - Page 12
CHAPTER 1: TEN DEEP DIVES
‘True hybrid’: The new
balance of in-person
and remote work
Hybrid work models are here to stay.
W
hat’s changing?
Before the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic, most
organizations expected
employees to spend more
than 80 percent of their time in an office. Now only
about 10 percent do, while the remaining 90 percent
have embraced a range of hybrid work models that
allow employees to work virtually from off-site locations
(including home) for some or much of the time.
Employees generally like this development: more
than four of five who have worked in a hybrid
model over the past two years want to retain it,
largely because of the flexibility and balance it
affords them. Organizations are settling into an
amorphous in-between state. The hybrid work
model is a development that seems here to stay.
Only 14 percent of respondents to the State of
Organizations Survey believe that remote work will
become less common in the future; more than half
believe it will become more common (Exhibit 6).
Leaders, managers, and employees are still grappling
with the effects of this broad behavioral upheaval.
Organizations have been forced to reexamine
foundational norms: Where do employees work?
When do employees work? How do employees work?
To succeed, each organization must determine how
best to combine remote and in-person work in ways
that suit the specific needs of its workforce.
This is the world of “true hybrid”: organizations
fully acknowledge the need to provide structure
and support around which activities are best done
in person or remotely. True-hybrid organizations
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create policies, workflows, and documentation that
help employees understand which activities are best
done in person and whether those activities are best
carried out in real time or asynchronously (that is,
with all team members being online when it’s most
convenient for them rather than simultaneously).
True-hybrid organizations also consistently address
the shortcomings that occur with conducting
activities in the less optimal format. By looking
beyond the static definition of hybrid work models—
beyond working at home versus an office—and
remaining open to the entire universe of options
for how, when, and where employees work, truehybrid organizations can distinguish themselves as
destination workplaces.
The benefits of getting it right
Finding an appropriate balance between in-person
and remote work can bring important potential
organizational benefits, including in talent and
productivity.
Attracting and retaining talent
Organizations that optimize their hiring processes and
employee journeys for a distributed workforce can
attract talented workers who may be interested in
certain jobs but feel reluctant to relocate to perform
them. They may also be able to access new pools of
talent in previously unavailable parts of the country or
in other countries, as well as workers with disabilities,
parents of young children, and others whose needs
aren’t suited to traditional working models.
Starting in February 2022, remote jobs posted on
LinkedIn received more than half the applications—
even though they accounted for less than 20 percent of
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