Elly Yates-Roberts |
Recent research from video and audio conferencing solution provider Poly has found that employers want to return to the office, despite the benefits of hybrid and remote working cited by employees.
The Hybrid Performance Review surveyed 5,000 US employees and employers to find out how workspaces, technology and personality traits impact performance, and how employers are responding.
“Our research indicates that hybrid work is here to stay,” said Dave Shull, president and CEO of Poly. “Organisations will need to adapt and upgrade their office gear, to include video-enabled meeting rooms with technology that’s as easy to use as the devices we have all come to know and love while working from home. Once we deliver the tools, technologies and benefits that employees crave today, we will be equipped to take on the future of work.”
According to the report, the majority (72 per cent) of workers think that their employers can do more to create a uniform experience between those in the office and those working remotely, for example via better technology.
Business leaders agree that they can do more to support hybrid work. A minority of business leaders rated their company as “excellent” in supporting hybrid workers with technology (45 per cent), well-being services (45 per cent), inclusion initiatives (44 per cent) and collaboration (42 per cent).
The report found that over 7 in 10 employees believe that working from home suits their personality type better, and 71 per cent agree that working from home has positively impacted their performance. Despite this, 65 per cent of employers are pushing for a return to the office and 57 per cent of workers agree they have felt pressure from their company to return to the office.
The benefits of remote and hybrid working seem to be felt across personality types, with both introverted and extroverted employees favouring it over full-time office work. Employees who consider themselves more extroverted are more likely to say hybrid or remote work is better suited to them than working full time in the office (41 per cent). However, introverts cite the most benefits: a greater number of introverted workers feel their productivity has increased since the pandemic (64 per cent), compared to extroverted workers (51 per cent). The report attributes this to a better work-life balance (38 per cent), and remote work increasing their confidence (35 per cent).