In 2021, we interviewed individuals from different cities around the world. We asked them questions regarding their experience and opinions about the new work models imposed during the pandemic.
Download the full reportThese individuals are composed of about:
· 30% hybrid workers who have varying on-site schedules
· 35% fully remote workers
· 35% on-site workers who are required to go to the office every day.
How many times do you go to the office?
Most of the respondents have identified their occupations for our interview purposes. None of our respondents had the exact job title apart from the two students. For the most part, hybrid and remote work are relatively new. Many have worked under the hybrid and remote work models only since the pandemic. however, a select few have been following hybrid/remote long before the pandemic even started.
*The diagram shows the number of days hybrid workers go to the office
Accountant
Accounting Analyst
Lawyer
Program Officer
Regional Business Director
Appliance Mechanic (19y)
Teleworker (16y)
Management Analyst
Director
Engineer
Executive Producer
Family Nurse Practitioner and Chiropractor
Lease Return Operator
Registered Dietician
Restaurant Service
Sales/Retail
Self-employed (undefined)
Service Industry
Professor of Chemical Engineering (prev. Acting Dean)
Senior Manager of Trust Funds
Student
Team Lead of Loan Processing Assistant
Directs web development projects (7y)
Life Coach (18y)
Merchant Coordinator (8y)
Street Photographer (9y)
Many of our interviewed hybrid and remote workers have good experiences under their current work model. Many of these workers have now adapted to this schedule and have implemented changes to their homes. The results are presented on the right table. Many have opted for a sort of home office, especially those who can afford the space. However, others have opted for less “official” setups such as the kitchen table, the couch, etc.
With all these changes implemented, we wondered how they will feel if suddenly their company decides to go back to in-person work.
So when asked “What will you do if your company cancels remote/hybrid work? This is what they have to say:
If we take into consideration the needs of the times, people are conflicted about the issue.
· On the one hand, you have the comfort and flexibility of working off-site.
· On the other hand, you need job security to live comfortably.
While many are confident in finding another job that offers working conditions that would suit them, many feel otherwise.
Among the “new” technologies that became necessary during the pandemic are video conferencing and online collaboration. Although not all participants have given responses to this particular question, we can see that majority have had a certain degree of experience with video conferencing and collaboration. This data includes onsite workers. 68% participate in online meetings. The 6% who have never participated in video conferencing find it irrelevant to their jobs (e.g. executive producer-on site and appliance mechanic-hybrid). 26% were neutral or had no comment about joining video conferencing. However, some companies has this technology for its other departments. It can be inferred then that
Do you participate in online meetings or video conferencing?
*the cells above shows the cities of origin of the interviewers and their relatives and friends *Below them are where those people have moved.
Hybrid work and remote work are here to stay.
Hybrid work and remote work are here to stay. A huge percentage of workers prefer them over traditional on-site work.Companies might see a shift in the workforce once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted and they decide to call back their employees to the office. Moving forward, we should continue to use the technology developed for collaboration. After almost two years of using them, it is clear that they promote productivity among employees. What needs to be focused upon moving forward is how to improve these technologies to cater to the changing needs of society. These would pertain to innovations that require less in-person contact and more immersive remote interactions. Many companies, including ours, are continuously developing innovations that would support the permanent changes made necessary by COVID-19.