The figures speak for themselves: 84% of employees feel they get more work done in a hybrid or remote setting than in-office/onsite, according to a recent global Zoom survey. Even more 18- to 24-year-olds are convinced of the benefits of hybrid working on their productivity (93%), as are 25- to 34-year-olds (88%).
Older workers, too, tend to agree, with 80% of working people over 55 believing they are more productive when they adopt a hybrid work structure.
But this intergenerational enthusiasm for hybrid work is not set in stone: 58% believe their work preferences will evolve over time. Many think they will want to work from home more when they have kids so they don’t have to commute to work, or when they’re approaching retirement age.
Nevertheless, employees around the world are still very keen on remote work, and a significant number of them would not consider working in a job that did not offer them a certain degree of organisational freedom. In fact, 36% said if they were to change jobs, they would look for an employer who gave them the opportunity to work from wherever they wished.
Is this a sign that the office is destined to disappear in the years to come? Not necessarily: 25% of working people would be prepared to join a company that required them to work in the office if they were to change jobs.
This is because the office is not just a workspace: it’s also a place where people socialise. Interaction with colleagues, and to a lesser extent with managers, remains the main reason why employees like to come to their company’s premises.
But it would be wrong to say that in-person meetings systematically foster communication within a company. Employees who work exclusively in the office don’t feel any more connected to their colleagues, superiors and, more generally, to any member of their company than those who occasionally work remotely.
“Hybrid workers feel the most connected in almost every way, and remote work isn’t the instigator of isolation that some make it out to be,” the Zoom report concluded.