Five Reasons Hybrid Workforces are Here to Stay

Even as some organizations begin to phase workers back to their physical offices, most have at least some percentage still working off-site. This hybrid model continues to be a part of our daily work experiences. Let’s take a look at the statistics that show the benefits of the new hybrid workforce, which will translate to increased demand for advanced collaboration technologies like video conferencing, unified communications, persistent chat solutions, and more.

• The Gallup State of the American Workplace report shows us that engagement levels are even higher for remote workers (32%) as compared to in-office workers at 28%.
• This research also states that remote workers feel a greater sense of belonging and communicate more regularly with their teams online. The report recommends that establishing OKRs, or Objectives and Key Results, helps to unify hybrid teams and increase the comfort level between on-site and off-site workers.
• Owl Labs’ 2019 State of Remote Work report revealed that remote workers were more than 13% more likely to stay in their positions for five years compared to on-premise employees. This means that the hybrid workplace may lead to less “churn,” or workplace turn-over. And those were pre-pandemic stats.
• A survey by Boston Consulting Group also found that, despite the disruptions of the pandemic, 75% of employees were able to maintain or improve their productivity while collaborating virtually with colleagues.

The Upwork business marketplace estimates that more than 26% of the American workforce will be working remotely through 2021. They also estimate that 22% (36.2 million Americans) will work remotely by 2025.

Why Remote Workforces Need Cloud-Based Collaboration Solutions

The continuing demand for virtual collaboration solutions has made many organizations re-examine their meeting areas, conference rooms, and even online huddle spaces to accommodate both on-site employees and remote workers at any given time. Companies, for their part, should start investing in collaboration solutions that can support on-site, remote, mobile, and at-home workers, without any disruption to workflows and processes or unease for the staff. These solutions not only boost productivity by accommodating the hybrid model but also help maintain a unified and aligned team.

Research confirms this boost in productivity. Boston Research Group conducted a survey of 12,000 employees during the pandemic, asking about their ability to be productive via remote infrastructures. They also gave their predictions on what would happen after workplace restrictions were lifted. “It’s imperative to start with a clean slate and reconfigure the ‘workplace of the future,’” the report suggested. Planning is crucial, both for successful collaboration and for the well-being of the employees involved.

Though there was little bright side to the challenges of 2020, the successful emergence of the hybrid workplace is a significant opportunity to come from that dark cloud. To learn more about how all-in-one voice, video, messaging, and collaboration solutions are unleashing the power of the modern workforce, check out our full solutions here.

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