The State of Organizations 2023 - Flipbook - Page 13
the job postings. McKinsey research on the workforce
shows that three of four employees report that having
control over when they work was a key factor in their
decision to accept their current job. And McKinsey
research on workplace flexibility shows that among
people who prefer hybrid work models, 71 percent say
they are likely to look for other opportunities if their
current employers discontinue those models.
Improving productivity
During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic,
some 58 percent of executives reported that the
productivity of individual employees had improved.
Most organizations also saw rises in the productivity
of teams, employee engagement, and customer
satisfaction. By allowing organizations to construct
globally dispersed teams working in different time
zones, a remote work model can enable around-theclock coverage and enhanced productivity, although
some of the data on the issue are less than clear cut.
To make the most of a hybrid work model,
companies must balance remote-work benefits
with the advantages brought by in-person work.
Increased productivity can also be achieved and
sustained when organizations balance the flexibility
of work with a structured environment. More
specifically, in-person work in a psychologically
safe environment can bring about easier access
to apprenticeship, mentorship, and sponsorship
opportunities, as well as a clearer delineation
between work and life boundaries that may help
workers manage their well-being.
Survey respondents report that team leaders are uncomfortable leading
remote teams.
Perceived comfort of team leaders with leading remote teams, % of respondents (n = 566)1
Issues to address
If a true-hybrid work model is to thrive, people from
every part of an organization will need to adjust
physically, mentally, and emotionally. Along the way,
it’s important to address some basic obstacles.
4
Many managers feel uncomfortable leading
hybrid teams
More than half of respondents in our State of
Organizations Survey report that their team leaders
are either uncomfortable or barely comfortable
leading remote and hybrid teams. Only 15 percent
say they are very comfortable (Exhibit 7). Managers
of hybrid teams miss the day-to-day oversight that
naturally occurs in an office setting. They have less
contact with employees who work remotely, and that
can lead to cycles of miscommunication.
Remote employees sometimes don’t feel seen
in hybrid settings
Managers can unintentionally create a two-tier
system within hybrid teams. People working
in an office might be valued simply because their
managers can observe them working, while remote
19
Not comfortable
A little
at all
comfortable
1
35
Comfortable to
some extent
26
15
Rather
comfortable
Very
comfortable
All respondents were asked to select the top 3 trends for their organizations. For these data, an additional question was posed to a subset of respondents:
How comfortable do you believe team leaders in your organization are today with leading remote teams compared with leading in-person teams?
Source: McKinsey State of Organizations Survey, >2,500 leaders in organizations with ≥1,000 employees across industries in Canada, China, France, Germany,
India, Spain, UK, and US, May–June 2022
employees might be judged solely on the quality of
their deliverables and the dynamics of their presence
on infrequent video calls. The result can be managerial
bias. For workplaces already challenged by diversityand retention-related issues, adopting an ill-conceived
hybrid work model could speed departures, decrease
levels of inclusion, and harm performance.
Boundaries between work and life can blur in a
hybrid context
It’s no accident that hybrid work models have changed
schedules and processes: almost 60 percent of
respondents in a McKinsey survey ranked work–life
support, such as switching to hybrid working as a key
priority for companies. But work norms are catching up.
For instance, emails, phone calls, and instant messages
may arrive far outside traditional working hours, and
that can create disquieting uncertainty for the receiver.
— Be transparent. It’s important to have a single
source of truth for managers and employees at
all levels. Perhaps the source is the combination
of a handbook and other documents that lay out
the rules and norms and is continually updated.
Such documents can outline, for instance, who
can work remotely and why, the levels of support
for in-person and off-site work, and who has
decision rights in certain matters.
Finding the right formula
— Be purposeful about where people work. Many
employees don’t want to come into the office to
do work they can just as easily do at home. Many
companies are therefore starting to refocus
in-person work on activities that take advantage
of the presence of colleagues in the same place.
Companies need to balance the increased
potential of a globally dispersed workforce with
the relational fabric and sense of community that
employees crave.
While the hurdles of hybrid work models are evident,
so are the opportunities. But it’s no longer enough
just to tweak old policies and practices. While no
one size fits all, organizations can behave as though
all workers are off site all of the time, even if that
isn’t always true. They need to develop a new set
of norms suited to a new kind of workplace. Our
research and experience in the field suggest a few
areas where they can start their focus:
— Remove ambiguity about working practices.
True-hybrid organizations emphasize clear,
consistent communication protocols. For instance,
if colleagues agree that their team will share
materials through certain channels only at certain
times of the day or week and have agreed-upon
response times, expectations are set. Thus the
boundaries between work and life become sharper.
All respondents were asked to select the top 3 trends for their organizations. For these data, an additional question was posed to a subset of respondents:
Source: McKinsey State of Organizations Survey, >2,500 leaders in organizations with ≥1,000 employees across industries in Canada, China, France, Germany,
India, Spain, UK, and US, May–June 2022
— Reset performance expectations. Discussions
of performance need to take asynchronous
work into account. That would mean managers
emphasizing work outputs rather than time
spent working, for example. It’s important to create
an environment in which on-site and off-site
colleagues all feel that they are on an equal footing.
— Test and learn. Pulse checks can determine
what’s working and what needs to be improved.
Companies can adjust codes and boundaries, if
necessary, based on employee feedback. Leaders
shouldn’t be afraid to share lessons learned
through experience—even if that means admitting
to failures or experiments that weren’t well received.
The State of Organizations 2023
March 2023
Exhibit 6
Survey respondents expect to see more, not less, remote work.
Expected evolution of remote work, % of respondents (n = 566)1
Decrease
14
53
No change
1
14
Exhibit 7
Increase
33
15