It’s called work for a reason. You could love your job, but I’d wager that if you had the financial freedom, you might not want to participate in the daily grind, and enjoy days with family, friends, hobbies and interests.
The pandemic has made people think differently about their arrangement with work. Realizing that life is short and fragile, it’s important to make the best of it while you can. Both employees and employers are figuring out ways to improve and enhance the work experience, especially as it’s a different type of job market. After two years of remote work, we know that the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., in-office protocol does not have to be the standard.
With one of the most competitive job markets in modern history, making it exceedingly hard for businesses to attract, recruit and retain workers, leadership understands that the pre-pandemic work styles have to be changed along with the times. If employees are not happy, they’ll leave, knowing that there are plenty of other places that would gladly welcome them, and might even pay a higher salary, along with enticing benefits.
It appears that the emerging consensus is to offer a hybrid model, in which people will be asked to come into an office setting two or three days a week and conduct business at home or remotely by a beach or ski house for the rest of the workweek.
Cisco, an American multinational technology company headquartered in San Jose, California, wanted to gain a sense of what employees are feeling by conducting a global survey. The results indicate companies and workers alike are adapting well to remote work—but the still-shifting landscape is upending the traditional work agreements between them as well.
The Big Picture
Now that the worst of the virus outbreak is hopefully behind us, companies have pivoted to testing remote and hybrid work models, in a non-pandemic, emergency type of environment. A lingering challenge is navigating the Great Resignation, which is prompting millions of Americans a month, at times, to quit their jobs. There are other matters to consider, such as remote workers not being seen and missing out or short-changing younger workers of the sage advice, guidance and counsel of experienced people that occur in the office place.
Webex by Cisco partnered with MIT Sloan Management Review Connections in late 2021 to survey over 1,500 respondents on their remote and hybrid work experiences over the last two years since the pandemic shutdowns began.
Participant roles ranged from corporate directors and C-suite level executives to supervisors, managers and individual contributors. They work in organizations of all sizes, represent a wide array of industries and are based across the globe.
Insights From The Study, And What It Means For The Future Of Work
Hybrid Work Improves Corporate Culture
Respondents agree that working remotely during the pandemic has not harmed corporate culture, and in many ways, it has improved. Ninety-five percent of respondents reported remote work has had a positive impact on corporate culture, with only a small percentage—fewer than 10%—saying, in response to multiple questions, that remote or hybrid work hurts corporate cultures.
When it comes to “walking the talk,” 88% of respondents said alignment of company practices with company values has improved (48%) or remained unchanged (40%). This sentiment is backed up by answers to questions about belonging, inclusivity, fairness, communication and a sense of safety.
Eighty-nine percent said feelings of diversity and inclusion improved (48%) or stayed the same (41%) with remote work, countering concerns of proximity bias. And, in a time of great uncertainty, 80% reported their organization treats all employees equitably when including them in important decisions.
Across the board, when it came to questions about camaraderie, engagement, diversity, inclusion or expressing opinions, less than 10% reported any of these cultural factors having gotten worse with remote or hybrid work.
Despite the belief that younger generations are getting lost in the away-from-the-office shuffle, Generation-Z (born between 1997 and 2001) is most likely to say cultural aspects of expressing personal opinions or inclusion and diversity have improved.
Leadership—Not Location—Accelerates Belonging
Remote work during the pandemic proved leadership and culture are more important than location to create a sense of belonging. Eighty-four percent reported they were confident in senior leaders’ ability to strengthen their sense of belonging.
Respondents also reported managers and leaders model inclusivity and fairness. Eighty percent said their managers encourage honest and open feedback “always” or “frequently.” Seventy-seven percent said leaders take steps to avoid language that may make some people feel they don’t belong. Seventy-five percent said their managers intentionally give top assignments to everyone, instead of just a select few.
Likewise, leadership is also confident in their employee’s ability to work remotely. Seventy-six percent of C-level executives agree company leaders believe home-based employees will do good work on time. The bottom line is that managers can manage remote workers and teams, remotely.
Robert C. Pozen, a senior lecturer at MIT Sloan School of Management, said, “I think it’s a fair statement to look at these findings and say that managers in remote and hybrid environments have very deep concerns and understand the possible pitfalls.” Pozen added, “They are being very intentional about how to manage these situations and seem to be pretty successful.”
Hybrid Work Is Reshaping The Great Resignation Into A Great Renegotiation
People want a choice of where to work—and not necessarily increased compensation or perks. While the first part of this statement is being understood more clearly these days, the sentiment is more nuanced. Fifty-nine percent of respondents agreed that the ability to work from a place of their own choice, at least part of the time, should be considered optional and not mandated.
In addition, 68% said letting people choose where they work is a key driver of employee engagement and well-being, suggesting the preference for choosing their working location comes from a work-life balance point of view.
The second half of the above statement, “not increased compensation or perks,” tells another story. While the Great Resignation is marked by employees’ control of the working contract between employer and employee, it does not appear to be a zero-sum game. Employees recognize the flexibility of workplace choice includes tradeoffs and are not asking for extra perks or changed compensation along with the option.
Seventy percent believe compensation should, as most organizations do now, vary based on the local cost of living, as opposed to having one standard rate of compensation for the role, regardless of where the work is done.
Sixty-two percent were slightly or not concerned about seeing an increased pay gap between people working from home and those working in the office full time. But only 20% of respondents believe it’s critical to reimburse costs for maintaining a home office. And only a small percentage (23%) were looking for the same perks as office workers, such as child and elder care, gym memberships and commuting costs.
Kevin Martin, chief research officer for the Institute for Corporate Productivity, said, “Employees generally prefer benefits that they view as options more than givens, which are essentially mandates.” Martin added, “Moreover, the workplace is changing, and employees recognize it. People consider going to the office as a place to collaborate and do their best work, not to be seen. Respondents’ top three advantages to going to the office include being more creative and collaborative, balancing home and work better and learning and developing new skills.”
Minding The Fault Lines
Although the new social contract for work is still being written, business leaders must be vigilant to not undo the remote and hybrid work progress they’ve made to date. This study shows culture does not disappear when people are not in the same location. It makes clear that leadership took steps to lead remote teams fairly through very uncertain times.
“It seems like the demands of the pandemic have finally pushed us over the tipping point and away from practices, such as command-and-control and micromanagement,” said Wayne Turmel, cofounder of the Remote Leadership Institute.
The desire for people to choose their place of work is rooted in the desire to live more balanced lives. In other words, remote and hybrid work did not create the conditions for the Great Resignation, but are leading contributions to employees’ desires for well-being and the ability to choose where they work. Backsliding is a real worry. Experts interviewed for the study’s report offer the following advice to avoid common pitfalls leaders may face in negotiating this new contract.
- Make effective use of technologies, such as video-conferencing platforms and messaging apps, to bring executives, managers and employees closer together.
- Think carefully about what “returning to normal” means.
- Ensure management ranks are thoroughly populated with leaders committed to innovation.
Organizational cultures are thriving, and, in some cases, doing better than they did before the pandemic. Leadership’s ability to model new remote work behaviors, practice fairness in assigning jobs, foster a sense of belonging and create safe environments for people to express their opinions is recognized by employees.
“Whether people believe that humans are, by nature, going to be self-directed or need to be controlled is becoming less relevant. Since the pandemic began, we have seen increasing amounts of self-direction and motivation,” said Jeremiah Lee, innovation leader and consultant at Spencer Stuart
A new social contract for work is unfolding in real time—one that is leading both employees and employers to scrap traditional agreements about work. Both sides are working through monumentally contentious issues to level the playing field for a stronger future of work. Karin Kimbrough, chief economist at LinkedIn, said, “It’s as if that social contract of work is being rewritten, and right now, the worker’s holding the pen.”
Aaron De Smet, a senior partner at McKinsey & Co., who specializes in organizational transformation, stated, “Often, executives want people onsite and let culture develop organically.” He continued, “But that can be very inefficient and difficult to control. Business leaders need to be intentional about how they develop culture, which appears to be what they have done with hybrid work environments.”
Source: Forbes
