Despite a clear industry-wide push to return to the office, enforced by Meta, Google and Amazon, most employees are still longing for suitable and practical solutions. hybrid working setups – and many companies simply fail to offer this.
The news comes from Deloitte, the 2023 Connected Consumer Survey shows that the majority (56%) of employees would like virtual options for their future work, compared to half (50%) last year.
The annual survey shows a downward trend in the number of employees seeking a fully or largely in-person work environment (37%, up from 44% in 2022), and an upward trend in the number of employees preferring a combination of remote and in-person work (28%, up from 21% in 2022).
Does hybrid work here to stay?
Lately, it seems like many CEOs are speaking out about the workplace productivity benefits associated with personal work, but its personal implications haven’t been discussed as much.
According to Deloitte, 45% said working from home improved family relationships, and 40% noticed better emotional well-being. Overall, four in five noted that their family relationships, workplace relationships, emotional well-being or resilience had improved.
On the other hand, burnout and stress among remote workers have fallen by four percentage points this year compared to last year.
Yet many companies are still failing their employees when it comes to giving them the right tools and resources to work remotely. Nearly a quarter (23%) say the systems they access for work don’t work well enough – a number significantly higher than the 16% who shared the same sentiment in 2022.
Will more companies express their positive feelings about in-person work, and will employees continue to seek more flexible routines? What exactly the future of hybrid and remote work holds remains to be seen.