Effects of Hybrid and Remote Work on Culture
Part Two of a collection of data and perceptions around
Hybrid and Remote work to help you make the right
decisions for your workforce.
April 28, 2021 • 10 Mins Read
In the previous section, the data showed workers prefer the hybrid style of working. They are more fulfilled, feel better appreciated, empowered, and satisfied with their jobs. But what are the effects of hybrid and remote work on culture? Companies do an outstanding job of building products, but building culture is harder and takes a longer time. Having a great culture is a competitive advantage, and with that in mind, do remote and hybrid models result in a better culture?
Good communication and a culture of collaboration are ingredients of great culture. And in Buffer’s research, 41 percent of the respondents showed that their collaboration and communication is the greatest change. This is primarily because conversations, brainstorm sessions, and meetings have moved online. Buffer adds that because the transition to work was smooth, it must mean that companies were already using tools, they had in place such as slack, WhatsApp, Zoom and simply begun leaning into these tools more than before, as opposed to using them from scratch. The data that shows that only 10 percent of workers felt like how they do their work changed supports this.
45 Percent Focus Time, 45 Percent Collaborative Time
An important part of culture in organizations is how teams work together to achieve the goals and mission of their organization. Everyone wants to feel that they are part of the team. That their work, uniqueness, ideas, and opinions add value. Working from home (WFH) also provided workers with a lot more focus time — time that an individual can concentrate and be attentive to a particular task, at the expense of collaborative time — time spent in pairs or a group to help achieve a goal.
A high-performing individual spends their time on focusing and collaborative work in equal measures — 45 percent each, with the remaining 10 percent made up of learning and social time.
Data – Leaders are more reliant on in-person collaboration.
The data shows that while in-person collaboration is easier in the office, leaders are more reliant on it. Leaders spend a lot of their time managing their teams, seeking, and passing on information. This is much easier done in person than it is virtually. You simply walk to a worker’s desk and do not have to think about what words to put on an email or struggle to get through to their phone.
As a result, senior leaders and managing directors in the U.S. and Australia had high scores for their roles being reliant on in-person collaboration. In the U.S. senior leaders had a score of 66 percent, while it was 73 percent for senior leaders in Australia.
Data – In-Person Collaboration is Better for Everyone
In the U.S., the data shows that collaborating with others is easier in the office, and so is staying up to date with other people’s work. Respondents in Gensler’s research felt that the degree to which problems are addressed and team members heard is the same whether the team is in the office or at home.
One of the concerning results in the data was the low easier at home scores in collaboration (15 percent), staying up to date with other people’s work (15 percent), addressing problems (18 percent), and ensuring team members are heard (19 percent). In retrospect, this could have been avoided by using tools to help with collaboration, non-intrusive internal company updates to help everyone stay up to date with the work being done. And behavioral guidelines to help managers and team members ensure everyone’s opinions are heard and conflict and problems are dealt with immediately they arise.
Data – Hybrid Gives you More Productive and Well-Rounded Employees
Before the pandemic, and even now relatively few workers around the world have experienced a hybrid work model. Those who have, have had a better experience than those who are full-time at the office or full-time at home. During the pandemic, those in a hybrid work model have seen a greater boost to their creativity, work relationships, and productivity. With the added flexibility of working from home, these employees can choose the environment that matches their day-to-day responsibilities.
For the hybrid worker, time spent working from the office is directly connected to time spent collaborating, learning, and socializing. And time spent at home is connected to focusing. By only spending a portion of their workweek in person with colleagues, those in a hybrid model are more likely to feel more productive but also connected and engaged.
The data below from the U.S. and Australia shows that the Hybrid model is the closest to ensuring that workers are spending a good chunk of their time collaborating and focusing.
Data – Do Not Undermine and Ignore Social Time
As you can see from the data above, one concerning result of only working from home in the last year is the reduced time spent socializing. Social time allows for interactions that create trust, common bonds and value, collective identity, collegiality, and productive relationships. It is not surprising to hear of team members leaving a team without most of the team being aware. Or new workers that have not met their colleagues beyond email or a virtual call. There is a need for leaders to purposefully schedule time for their team members to interact with one another.
This is supported by data from France that showed that those who have never left or returned to work found it easier to connect with their team members socially and feel included.
Data – Leaders had more Coaching Opportunities than other Staff
Social time, addressing problems, communication and collaboration were not the only factors to suffer during the global pandemic. While senior leaders and managing directors took part in coaching–probably seeking guidance on how to surf the waves of change. Those in professional, technical, and administrative roles scored lowly.
Over 50 percent of senior leaders and managing directors in the U.S., shared that they had taken part in coaching or mentoring. Compared to a low percentage of professional and technical personnel (34 percent) and administrative personnel (29 percent). Australia recorded better numbers for their professional and technical roles (42 percent) and administrative personnel (36 percent). However, the leaders still had higher participation in mentorship and coaching. 2020 was an incredibly stressful time for most businesses, and it is good to see that a lot of leaders in these two markets took part in what we are assuming is both personal and professional coaching.
Data – Workers Struggled to get Awareness of Other People’s Work
Workers struggled to maintain an awareness of other people’s work. Particularly the work of those beyond their teams. We expect leaders will always have a greater awareness of what is taking place in their teams. They are information centers with everyone reporting to them. Over 50 percent of senior leaders stated they are aware of what others on their team and other teams within their company are working on.
However, the results for professional, technical, and administrative roles show the need for stronger internal communication within companies. While 57 percent of professional and technical workers are aware of what others in their teams are working on. Only 44 percent are aware of what other teams are doing within their company. The results for administrative and support workers follow the same trend with 52 percent for the former and 44 percent for the latter.
Data – Not Being Able to Unplug Is the Biggest Challenge with Remote Work
Another important aspect of culture is employee wellbeing. Do workers get work done at the expense of their well-being? And the purpose of this analysis do workers have a higher quality of life because of working from home or balancing between the office and home? Many people have said they enjoyed spending more time with their children, spouses, family, and greater flexibility.
But there is a flip side. According to Buffer’s 2021 study not being able to unplug, difficulties with collaboration and communication and loneliness were the largest challenges that remote workers have had. This is something that we have written extensively about. If you would like to read about some solutions that we have for these and other challenges, please check out this blog post.
Buffer then asked the respondents who became remote workers because of COVID-19 if they believe they are working now that they are remote, 45 percent shared they are working more, and 42 percent said they believe they are working the same amount. Not only are workers working more, but over half of the respondents (52 percent) are in more meetings because of the shift to remote work.
Buffers results are supported by data that was released by the NordVPN Teams insights department. Using data analyzed from their servers, NordVPN Teams found workers are spending more hours at their desks. Taking shorter lunch breaks and facing a bigger workload than pre-covid times. In the U.S., workers are three hours more (a day) while those in the U.K. are putting in two hours more.
What you Can Do
- Schedule virtual social time. Social time allows for interactions that create trust, common bonds and value, collective identity, collegiality, and productive relationships. Book a demo session and explore the engaging virtual solutions we have.
- Increase external and internal coaching opportunities for staff. If your leaders and managers do not have the capacity, consider bringing in external coaches.
- Strengthen your internal communication and help workers have greater awareness of what is taking place within the company. Book a session with us to discover our internal communication solutions.
- Help you people learn how to unplug and create boundaries around their work. Develop digital communication assets to help with this.
- Develop practical policies around working from home that result in healthier and more productive workers.
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