Hybrid work is just work 

Months into hybrid work, not everyone agrees on how it’s going. Employees and employers are divided. Employees have embraced flexible work and its benefits and are rejecting a return to hustle culture.

In today's rapidly changing economic environment, many leaders find themselves yearning for the office life of 2019—bustling hallways filled with conversation and the aroma of fresh coffee. Yet, they now face a uniquely challenging recession characterised by rising inflation, shrinking budgets, and an unexpectedly tight talent marketplace. This paradox makes it more critical than ever for leaders to strike a delicate balance between employee satisfaction and organisational success, aligning everyone around the most impactful work.

As Satya Nadella, Chairman and CEO of Microsoft, puts it, "Thriving employees are what will give organisations a competitive advantage in today’s dynamic economic environment." To foster such a thriving workforce in a hybrid work environment, where employees are digitally connected and often distributed, leaders must adopt a fresh approach.

To address these challenges, we conducted a comprehensive survey of 20,000 individuals across 11 countries and analysed trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, in conjunction with LinkedIn labor trends and Glint People Science insights. The findings emphasise the urgent need for leaders to make three pivotal shifts to drive alignment and empower their teams within the new hybrid work environment. This approach acknowledges both the risks and benefits of hybrid working, highlighting the complexities of creating a meta work environment that integrates digital tools like Microsoft Mesh to enhance collaboration and employee experience. After all, when employees thrive in this hybrid world, organizations flourish.

People are working more than ever, while leaders—already worried by signals of macroeconomic decline —are questioning if their employees are being productive. The majority of employees (87%) report that they are productive at work, and productivity signals across Microsoft 365 continue to climb. This spring, we found that the number of meetings per week had increased by 153% globally for the average Microsoft Teams user since the start of the pandemic, and there is still no indication that this trend has reversed, suggesting this peak could become the new baseline.

Amid an already heavy meeting load, there has been a 46% increase in overlapping meetings (being double-booked) per person over the past year.  In contrast, declines and tentative RSVPs have surged dramatically by 84% and 216% respectively in the past two years. This added pressure is evident as, in a typical week, 42% of participants multitask during meetings by sending emails or pings, not accounting for other distractions such as checking incoming messages, working on non-meeting files, or browsing the web.

At the same time, 85% of leaders report that the shift to hybrid work has made it difficult to confidently assess employee productivity. With some organisations using technology to monitor activity rather than actual impact, employees often lack context about why and how they are being monitored. This lack of clarity can erode trust and contribute to “productivity theatre,” where tracking metrics create a façade of productivity without reflecting true work effectiveness. Consequently, leaders experience productivity paranoia, fearing that decreased productivity is due to employees not working, despite increases in hours worked, meeting counts, and other activity metrics. This issue highlights both the risks and benefits of hybrid working and underscores the need for a balanced approach in a hybrid work environment.

Closing the feedback loop is crucial for talent retention in a hybrid work environment. Employees who believe their company uses feedback to drive meaningful change report higher levels of satisfaction (90% vs. 69%) and engagement (89% vs. 73%). Conversely, those who think their companies do not act on feedback are more than twice as likely to consider leaving in the next year (16% vs. 7%). Building trust and encouraging participation in feedback systems involves not just gathering input but also transparently sharing what has been heard, how it's being addressed, and the reasons behind these actions.

Action Steps:

1. Set Clear Goals: Utilise objectives and key results (OKRs) to align employee efforts with company goals. Additionally, establish NO-KRs to specify what tasks should be avoided to prioritise the most critical work in a hybrid work environment.

2. Cultivate a Results-Oriented Culture: Focus on rewarding employees for their impact rather than merely their activity to prevent employees from "LARP-ing" (Live Action Role-Playing) their jobs.

3. Regular Feedback Collection: Implement consistent feedback mechanisms at organisational, departmental, and team levels to maintain a pulse on employee experiences. Leverage tools like Microsoft Mesh to enhance meta work, enabling real-time feedback and supporting better decision-making. Empower managers and leaders to actively listen, coach, and make informed decisions to improve team performance and well-being in the context of hybrid work.

By addressing these areas, leaders can enhance trust, engagement, and overall effectiveness in the hybrid work environment.

The desire among employees to reconnect with colleagues aligns with a crucial organisational need: rebuilding social capital. According to 68% of business decision-makers, maintaining team cohesion and social connections has been a significant challenge due to the shift to hybrid work. Employees are experiencing this disconnect acutely, with approximately 51% feeling that their relationships outside their immediate work group have weakened and 43% feeling disconnected from the company as a whole.

While in-person interactions are valuable, they cannot be the sole solution. Technology plays a vital role in fostering connections across various work environments. Effective communication is essential for keeping everyone engaged and informed; nearly all business decision-makers (96%) and employees (95%) view it as a critical skill for the coming year. This communication must be authentic, not just informative—employees rank authenticity as the top quality a manager should have to support their best work (85%), and 83% of business decision-makers believe it is important for senior leadership to demonstrate authenticity.

Action Steps:

1. Leverage In-Person Time: Use office time strategically to help employees rebuild team bonds and strengthen their networks.

2. Develop a Digital Employee Experience: Create a robust digital ecosystem to keep employees connected to each other, leadership, and the company culture, regardless of where they work.

3. Foster a Digital Community: Implement modern communication tools to facilitate ongoing conversations, empower employees to share their perspectives, and bridge connections between leadership and staff.

Incorporating tools like Microsoft Mesh into your meta work strategy can enhance these efforts by providing virtual spaces that simulate in-person interactions, helping to maintain team cohesion and engagement in a hybrid work environment.

In the face of economic challenges, it is crucial for organisations to focus on re-recruiting, re-onboarding, and re-energising their employees. Data reveals that if employees cannot continue learning and growing, they are more likely to leave. As employees evaluate their careers through a new "worth-it" lens, many are turning to job-hopping, the creator economy, side hustles, and entrepreneurship to meet their professional aspirations. With a tight labor market persisting, leaders who expect these trends to reverse may be disappointed. Instead of resisting these shifts, the most effective leaders will focus on prioritising learning.

Younger generations, particularly Gen Z and Millennials, are especially inclined to aspire to entrepreneurship, with 76% expressing this ambition compared to 63% of Gen X and older generations. These younger employees are also more likely to stay with their current employer if given the flexibility to pursue side projects or additional income streams, with 77% expressing this preference versus 66% of older employees. Furthermore, this spring, 52% of Gen Z and Millennials indicated they are likely to consider changing jobs within the next year.

In a hybrid work environment, where the pros and cons of flexible work arrangements are increasingly evident, leaders should leverage tools like Microsoft Mesh to create opportunities for learning and development. By embracing these tools, organisations can better support employee growth, address the risks associated with hybrid working, and improve retention and engagement in a dynamic labor market.

Employers can’t ignore this next wave of the workforce: in the US alone, Gen Z employees are projected to make up approximately 30% of the workforce by 2030. And on LinkedIn, Gen Z employees are transitioning jobs at a faster pace than other generations, up 22% in the past year (far exceeding Millennials, whose job transition rate dropped by 1% in the same timeframe).

Across the workforce, there is a strong demand for growth opportunities. A significant 56% of employees and 68% of business decision-makers believe their companies do not offer sufficient opportunities for long-term career development. Many employees feel that advancing their skills often requires moving to a new company, with 55% believing that changing employers is the best way to achieve personal development. This perspective becomes more pronounced with higher job levels: 51% of entry-level and lower-tier workers, 66% of mid-level managers, and 69% of executives share this view.

In the context of hybrid work, where balancing flexibility and career growth is a key challenge, organisations need to address this gap by prioritising internal mobility. The risks of hybrid working include the potential for employees to feel disconnected from advancement opportunities within their current company. To mitigate these risks and maximise the benefits of a hybrid work environment, organisations should focus on enhancing internal career development pathways.

If People Can’t Learn, They’ll Leave

Many workers feel that they need to leave a company to develop their skills. 

Two out of three employees (68%) indicate they would stay longer at their company if it were easier to transition to different roles internally. This sentiment is even stronger among younger generations, with 73% of Gen Z and Millennials expressing this view, compared to 65% of Gen X. Among people managers and business decision-makers, the percentage rises further, with 75% and 77% respectively seeing internal mobility as a key factor in retention.

This emphasis on long-term growth and skill development also reflects why 68% of employees and 77% of business decision-makers would prefer making a lateral move that offers new skills over a vertical promotion with fewer opportunities for learning and growth.

The connection between learning and retention is clear: 76% of employees say they’d stay at their company longer if they could benefit more from learning and development support. The numbers rise even higher for business decision makers (+7). In fact, employees consider opportunities to learn and grow as the #1 driver of great work culture , a jump from 2019 when it was ranked #9. So taken as a whole, prioritising employee learning and growth presents a winning retention formula for organisations—or, alternately, if neglected, could pose an existential threat.

Take action:

• Make learning and growth core to the employee experience—that means bringing the right resources and learning experiences into the flow of work to close the skills gap.

• Recognize that people want opportunities not just for promotion but to broaden their skills. Organisations need to make internal mobility a key priority and help employees view their career as a climbing wall or playground , rather than a ladder.

• Shift your mindset to create an internal talent marketplace where people can grow their skills, build their careers, and find purpose while helping the organisation thrive.

The Way Forward

The transformations that have reshaped the work world in recent years are here to stay. Flexibility is now a fundamental aspect of work, not a passing trend. Leadership practices from 2019 are no longer sufficient to address the needs of a digitally connected, hybrid work environment. Leaders who rely on data-driven insights—not just instinct—and prioritize clarity, social capital, and career growth can unlock the true potential of hybrid work while maximizing the value of their most important asset: their people. In today’s landscape, positive business outcomes are increasingly tied to positive employee outcomes.

Embracing tools like Meta Quest 3 & Microsoft Mesh can further enhance the hybrid work experience by fostering deeper connections and more effective collaboration, mitigating the risks of hybrid working, and addressing both the pros and cons of this evolving work environment.

Initiatives you can now deliver:

• Replace Commuting with Teleporting into the office
  • Ticks the employee (worth it to go in the office)
  • Addresses the No 1. reason for going in the office to meet a key colleague(s) or Peer(s)
• Cut the Carbon footprint of the company with Teleporting
  • Removing commuting carbon impact 
  • Improve employee well-being by giving them "commuting time back" for health or family
  • Imagine that, no train pass subsidy, Gym subsidy for healthier sharper employees
• Remove 2D Microsoft Teams Fatigue 
  • Introduce 3D Microsoft Mesh Meetings, shorter and more effective 
• Increase Employee Engagement (as low as 10% in a Gallup study in the UK)
  • Now mandate to come to the office 
  • Downsize the office 
  • Cut Meeting Room space 
  • Move to 3D Microsoft Mesh Meetings with Meta Quest 3 Headsets 
• Transform Training outcomes and cost 
  • Cheaper training 
  • More effective Training 
• Wow Future Employees at the Milk Round With Recruitment 3D meetings 
  • Meet the team 
  • Learn the culture 
  • Immersed in a 3D recruitment session
     

 

 

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