Hybrid work in figures
According to a survey conducted by the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines agréés (CRHA), 93% of Quebec employers have experimented with various hybrid work modes over the past year. The mode most frequently implemented - by one organization out of two - is the model that requires employees to be present at a minimum, predetermined by the employer and according to a fixed formula (for example, two days a week in the office).
A number of facts emerge from Julhiet Sterwen's study: 78% of respondents consider hybrid working to have a positive impact on their lives. In particular, the question of work-life balance is raised. Only 4% said that hybrid work had a negative impact on their productivity. Interestingly, 53% of respondents today consider hybrid work to be a criterion that will attract them to one organization rather than another.
A model with its own risks
Psychosocial risks are never far away when it comes to the hybrid phenomenon. The study first addresses the risk of hyperconnection, where the employee no longer has the option of "picking up the phone". They carry their cell phone with them, can receive a call at any time, stay connected to their e-mail, etc. Researcher Sonia Lupien mentioned in an interview that when we're constantly disturbed by emails, messages on Teams or Slack, social network notifications, noise, text messages or Outlook reminders, our attention is fragmented. This is what causes our stress to soar and our productivity to plummet, since every interruption wastes an inordinate amount of time.
Every week, 500,000 Canadians miss work due to stress-related mental disorders. In other words, the employee no longer leaves the office... because work follows him or her everywhere. It is also reported that the number of e-mails received daily by an employee has increased by 45%, leaving less time for reflection and essential tasks. Another worrying fact: 41% of employees feel isolated from their colleagues.
The need to adapt
Faced with this reality, all professionals have to adapt, and this also applies to managers, who have to develop new ways of recruiting, retaining and satisfying their employees. Managers have no choice but to adapt, using methods based on communication, listening and trust, since teams may be scattered to the four corners of the globe (or, more modestly, the province). This is the first time these skills have been highlighted in a Phygital Workplace Barometer.
Will employees return to the office full-time? Forget it, if this study is to be believed. To promote creativity, concentration and work-life balance, over 50% of respondents believe that remote working is the best option.
For her part, researcher Sonia Lupien draws a distinction between stress "from" work and stress "at" work. Before the pandemic, we used to think that stressful elements were to be found at work (a hostile colleague, traffic congestion on the way to work, etc.), but we've come to realize that we experience stress "at" work (the work itself, whether we're in the office, at home or on a mountaintop in Bali!).
In her opinion, to reduce stress, including 2-3 days of face-to-face work per week would be a viable option. She suggests that days at home should be devoted to in-depth work, while days at the office should be used for meetings and collaboration with colleagues. In short, hybrid mode doesn't solve everything.
In conclusion
Managers need to get used to the idea that telecommuting is here to stay, and it's up to them to undertake initiatives to foster employee collaboration, creativity and productivity. Above all, telecommuting is attractive to the vast majority of employees. "Our insistence on face-to-face work as the default value is inherited from an earlier era when tools were not designed for speed and efficiency," explained Alexia Cambon, Research Director at Gartner. "We need to adjust the way we exploit all the work modes at our disposal", she mentions.
It's also worth mentioning that there doesn't seem to be a miracle formula that suits all types of organization. It's up to each company to find the solution that suits them best, depending on their sector of activity. The question now is, what will these initiatives be that combine productivity, collaboration, communication and well-being? To be continued...
To find out more..:
Talent retention: the keys to retaining your employees
