www.microsoft.com Open in urlscan Pro
2a02:26f0:6c00:28a::356e  Public Scan

Submitted URL: https://m.aug.co/e3t/Ctc/ZR+113/ct48Q04/MVnnSmxS-4QW89mQlP2lK9x3W3V7XmG4HLfZdN80643w3lLBZV1-WJV7CgCjJW6dYymr3p-Fd...
Effective URL: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index/great-expectations-making-hybrid-work-work?utm_medium=email&_hsmi...
Submission: On April 11 via api from US — Scanned from DE

Form analysis 0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.

We use optional cookies to improve your experience on our websites, such as
through social media connections, and to display personalized advertising based
on your online activity. If you reject optional cookies, only cookies necessary
to provide you the services will be used. You may change your selection by
clicking “Manage Cookies” at the bottom of the page. Privacy Statement
Third-Party Cookies

Accept Reject Manage cookies
Skip to Main Content
WorkLab
Work Trend Index
Podcast
Contributors
Microsoft 365 Blog
Share
Share
TwitterFacebookRedditLinkedIn

Work Trend Index 2022


GREAT EXPECTATIONS: MAKING HYBRID WORK WORK

From when to go to the office to why work in the first place, employees have a
new “worth it” equation. And there’s no going back.

March 16, 2022

Illustration by Sébastien Thibault

Share
W

e’ve been on the cusp of the shift to hybrid work for more than a yearWe’ve been
on the cusp of the shift to hybrid work for more than a year, with false starts
attributed to a pandemic that had other ideas. Now, we’re at a long-awaited
inflection point: the lived experience of hybrid work. Already, hybrid work is
up seven points year-over-year (to 38%), and 53% of people are likely to
consider transitioning to hybrid in the year ahead.¹

One thing is clear: We’re not the same people that went home to work in early
2020. The collective experience of the past two years has left a lasting
imprint, fundamentally changing how we define the role of work in our lives. The
data shows the Great Reshuffle is far from over. Employees everywhere are
rethinking their “worth it” equation and are voting with their feet. And as more
people experience the upsides of flexible work, the more heavily it factors into
the equation. For Gen Z and Millennials, there’s no going back. And with other
generations not far behind, companies must meet employees where they are.

As leaders puzzle over how to make hybrid work work, big questions loom: What is
the role of the office? How do teams build social capital in a digital-first
world? The challenge ahead for every organization is to meet employees’ great
new expectations head-on while balancing business outcomes in an unpredictable
economy.

To help leaders navigate the uncertainty, the 2022 Work Trend Index outlines
findings from a study of 31,000 people in 31 countries, along with an analysis
of trillions of productivity signals in Microsoft 365 and labor trends on
LinkedIn. While we’re all learning as we go, the findings reveal an urgent
opportunity—and responsibility—for leaders to approach the transition with
intention and a growth mindset, or risk being left behind.

Download the full report



Great Expectations: Making Hybrid Work Work

Key Findings

Five urgent trends business leaders need to know in 2022:

 1. Employees have a new “worth it” equation. 

 2. Managers feel wedged between leadership and employee expectations. 

 3. Leaders need to make the office worth the commute. 

 4. Flexible work doesn’t have to mean “always on.” 

 5. Rebuilding social capital looks different in a hybrid world. 


1.

Employees have a new “worth it” equation.

53%

of employees are more likely to prioritize health and wellbeing over work than
before the pandemic.

52%

of Gen Z and Millennials are likely to consider changing employers this year, up
3 percentage points year-over-year.

The experience of the past two years has reshaped our priorities, identities,
and worldview, drawing a bright line between what’s important—health, family,
time, purpose—and what’s not. As a result, employees’ “worth it” equation—what
people want from work and what they’re willing to give in return—has changed.
The power dynamic is shifting, and perks like free food and a corner office are
no longer what people value most.

In our study, 47% of respondents say they are more likely to put family and
personal life over work than they were before the pandemic. In addition,
53%—particularly parents (55%) and women (56%)—say they’re more likely to
prioritize their health and wellbeing over work than before.


CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF WORK

5
“I can still be successful at work, but I need to make more balanced decisions
to pursue my own interests.”

—Mid-level manager, UK

6
“I want to put my personal goals on the same level as my professional goals.”

—Mid-level manager working in construction, Spain

7
“By not commuting, I have more time to spend with my family and more time for
daily things, like cooking a meal and eating together.”

—Employee working in professional services, United States

1
“I was able to adjust my work schedule...so that I can spend more time with my
family. My perspective about life has been changed.”

—Senior executive in the tech industry, UK

2
“I used to think of my work as part of my identity. Now I think of my work as
something I do, but not necessarily as a core part of myself.”

—Information worker in the energy industry, Australia

3
“Work is only a part of life. It shouldn’t be your whole life or the only thing
you care about.”

—Team lead in professional services, Argentina

4
“I have come to be more protective of my family since the pandemic. Work is
important, but I can always find another job. I can’t find another family.”

—Mid-level manager working in government, Canada

5
“I can still be successful at work, but I need to make more balanced decisions
to pursue my own interests.”

—Mid-level manager, UK

6
“I want to put my personal goals on the same level as my professional goals.”

—Mid-level manager working in construction, Spain

7
“By not commuting, I have more time to spend with my family and more time for
daily things, like cooking a meal and eating together.”

—Employee working in professional services, United States

1
“I was able to adjust my work schedule...so that I can spend more time with my
family. My perspective about life has been changed.”

—Senior executive in the tech industry, UK

2
“I used to think of my work as part of my identity. Now I think of my work as
something I do, but not necessarily as a core part of myself.”

—Information worker in the energy industry, Australia

3
“Work is only a part of life. It shouldn’t be your whole life or the only thing
you care about.”

—Team lead in professional services, Argentina

4
“I have come to be more protective of my family since the pandemic. Work is
important, but I can always find another job. I can’t find another family.”

—Mid-level manager working in government, Canada

5
“I can still be successful at work, but I need to make more balanced decisions
to pursue my own interests.”

—Mid-level manager, UK

6
“I want to put my personal goals on the same level as my professional goals.”

—Mid-level manager working in construction, Spain

7
“By not commuting, I have more time to spend with my family and more time for
daily things, like cooking a meal and eating together.”

—Employee working in professional services, United States

 * 1
 * 2
 * 3
 * 4
 * 5
 * 6
 * 7

And employees are acting on their newfound priorities. In 2020, 17% of people
left their jobs, and we see that trend continuing—reaching 18% in 2021. The top
five reasons employees quit were: personal wellbeing or mental health (24%),
work-life balance (24%), risk of getting COVID-19 (21%), lack of confidence in
senior management/leadership (21%), and lack of flexible work hours or location
(21%). Somewhat surprisingly, “not receiving promotions or raises I deserved”
landed in number seven on the list at 19%, further illustrating the shift in
priorities.

PRIORITIES HAVE SHIFTED

People are now more likely to prioritize their health and wellbeing over work
than before the pandemic.
RegionGeneration

Survey respondents were asked, “Compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic, how
likely are you to prioritize your health and wellbeing over work?”
Illustration by Valerio Pellegrini

The data also shows the Great Reshuffle is far from over. In the year ahead,
many hybrid employees (51%) say they will consider a switch to remote, and even
more remote employees (57%) say they’ll consider a switch to hybrid. At the same
time, 43% of employees are somewhat or extremely likely to consider changing
jobs in the coming year, up slightly year-over-year from 41%. Some generations
are even more likely to consider changing employers—more than half (52%) of Gen
Z and Millennials combined may change jobs in the year ahead, up 3 percentage
points since last year. By comparison, only 35% of Gen X and Boomers say they’re
considering a job change.

And the desire for flexibility extends to leadership, too—47% of leaders are
likely to consider applying for jobs not near their homes in the next year.

The workforce is still in transition

Many hybrid employees are considering a switch to remote while even more remote
employees are considering a switch to hybrid in the year ahead.

Respondents were asked, “Thinking ahead, how likely are you to consider doing
the following in the next year?” Percentages shown in graphic include those who
are somewhat or extremely likely to shift to remote or hybrid work in the year
ahead.

Illustration by Valerio Pellegrini

For Gen Z, there’s no going back

For younger employees, flexibility, mobility, and entrepreneurial freedom are
non-negotiable.

 * 58% of Gen Z are considering changing jobs in the year ahead versus 43%
   overall.
 * 58% are considering a shift to hybrid work in the year head versus 53%
   overall.
 * 56% are considering a shift to remote work in the year ahead versus 49%
   overall.
 * 70% are considering earning additional income outside their current employer
   via a side project or business in the year ahead versus 59% overall.
 * LinkedIn data says Gen Z is the most mobile generation on the platform: since
   the pandemic began, their migration rate is up 23% in the U.S.
 * 52% of Gen Z hybrid employees say they’re moving to a new location because
   they’re able to work remotely versus 38% overall.
 * Gen Z’s likelihood to engage with a company posting on LinkedIn if it
   mentions “flexibility” is far higher (77%) than Millennials (30%) and others
   on the platform.

Compared to last year, geographic migration is slowing. Today, 38% of
respondents are considering moving because they can work remotely at their
current job (compared to 46% in 2021), while 30% are likely to consider a move
in the year ahead even if it requires finding a new job that lets them work
remotely. Gen Z and Millennials are even more willing to change jobs in order to
live in a different location (44% and 38%, respectively), while just 27% of Gen
X and 17% of Boomers are considering the shift.

What are employees looking for in a job now? Beyond pay, the top five aspects of
work that employees view as “very important” for an employer to provide are:
positive culture (46%), mental health/wellbeing benefits (42%), a sense of
purpose/meaning (40%), flexible work hours (38%), and more than the standard two
weeks of paid vacation time each year (36%). While new-to-the-workforce Gen Z
shares the same top three priorities, they list positive feedback and
recognition as their fourth priority, while ranking a manager who will help
advance their career in fifth place.

“Covid has not been all doom and gloom for me. It forced me to dig deep and
reevaluate what is important.”

Self-employed education professional, Canada

And many employees are looking beyond their “day job” for creative
opportunities. Fully 70% of Gen Z and 67% of Millennials say they are
considering earning additional income via a side project or business in the next
year. For leaders, this is creating new challenges—not just in attracting and
retaining top talent, but in engaging current employees who increasingly define
and design their careers around creative pursuits.

In all, there’s no erasing the lived experience—and lasting impact—of the past
two years. A few months of remote work could have been a blip, but 24 months in,
people have proved you can be a great employee and have a life. Now, flexibility
and wellbeing are non-negotiables that companies can’t afford to ignore.



Key takeaway: Meeting these new employee expectations will require a mindset
shift that considers the experience of the past two years. Employees’ “worth it”
equation has changed—and there’s no going back. The best leaders will create a
culture that embraces flexibility and prioritizes employee
wellbeing—understanding that this is a competitive advantage to build a thriving
organization and drive long-term growth.

2.

Managers feel wedged between leadership and employee expectations.

74%

of managers say they don’t have the influence or resources to make change for
employees.

54%

of managers say leadership is out of touch with employees.

The past two years have taught us that culture will stand or fall with managers.
But many managers feel stuck between leadership and new employee expectations,
and they feel powerless to drive change for their team. Over half of managers
(54%) feel leadership at their company is out of touch with employee
expectations. And 74% say they don’t have the influence or resources they need
to make changes on behalf of their team.

The source of this tension is clear as business leaders seek a return to what
once was; 50% of leaders² say their company already requires, or plans to
require, full-time in-person work in the year ahead. This percentage is even
higher for leaders in the manufacturing (55%), retail (54%), and consumer goods
(53%) industries.

This stands in sharp contrast to the data on the importance of flexible work to
employees. Over half of respondents (52%) say they are likely to consider
shifting to hybrid or remote work in the year ahead. And remote and hybrid jobs
are still on the rise. According to LinkedIn, in March of 2020, 1 in 67 U.S.
jobs offered a remote work option. Today, that number is about 1 in 7. And
remote jobs on LinkedIn attract 2.6 times more views and nearly 3 times more
applicants compared to on-site roles.

Back to the office

Many leaders say their company is planning a return to the office full time
within the next year, but a majority of employees prefer the flexibility of
remote and hybrid work.

50% of leaders in information worker roles say their company is currently or
planning to focus on requiring full-time in-person work in the year ahead, while
52% of respondents say they are somewhat or extremely likely to consider going
remote or hybrid in the year ahead.

Illustration by Valerio Pellegrini



There’s no question technology helped preserve productivity during the pandemic,
but fears about lost gains may be factoring into the pullback to in-person work.
Despite 80% of employees saying they are just as or more productive since going
remote or hybrid, 54% of leaders fear productivity has been negatively impacted
since the shift.

“There’s no erasing the lived experience and lasting impact of the past two
years. Empowering managers to adapt to new employee expectations helps set
businesses up for long-term success.”

Jared Spataro, CVP, Modern Work, Microsoft

Leaders have spent the past two years under crushing pressure, shepherding their
people and organizations through uncertainty amid unprecedented economic
challenges. It’s easy to imagine why they might see a return to the office as
the solution. But now, leaders have a new and urgent challenge in an uncertain
economy and labor market: setting the standard for flexible work in a way that
balances business outcomes with new employee expectations.

Key takeaway: An important lesson of the past two years is that managers embody
and instantiate the culture for every organization. Managers are a critical
bridge between evolving employee expectations and leadership priorities. If
empowered, they hold the key to unlock the potential of hybrid work. Equip them
with the resources and training they need to manage the transition. While policy
is set at the top, leaders need to decentralize decision-making and empower
managers to make change on behalf of their employees’ individual needs.
Microsoft encourages managers to use this template to create team agreements for
hybrid work.

3.

Leaders need to make the office worth the commute.

38%

of hybrid employees say their biggest challenge is knowing when and why to come
into the office.

28%

of leaders have created team agreements for hybrid work to define why and when
to go to the office.

As the world shifts more fully into hybrid work, the biggest opportunity for
business leaders is to reimagine the role of the office and create clarity
around why, when, and how often teams should gather in person. More than a third
(38%) of hybrid employees say their biggest challenge is knowing when and why to
come into the office. Yet few companies (just 28%) have established team
agreements to clearly define the new norms.

Making the office work for all employees will take radical intentionality.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach: Experiment with “Team Tuesdays” or
in-person office hours between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., two days a week. Consider
quarterly offsites that bring far-flung teammates together regularly. The key is
for managers to provide clear guidance to employees as they experiment and learn
what works for the team.

“You must design workplaces with enough flexibility to support every employee. A
mix of quiet places, collaboration areas, and touch-down locations helps ensure
everyone can be connected, engaged, and productive.”

Michael Ford, CVP of Global Workplace Services

This intentionality extends to hybrid meetings. Making hybrid meetings a great
experience for everyone requires investing in three things: hardware, software,
and culture. Start by augmenting existing hardware with AI-powered cameras
designed for the people not in the room; consider adding larger screens to give
everyone a seat at the table and create a canvas for collaboration. Second, have
everyone join Teams—including those in the room—to create a shared experience.
Third, create new cultural norms for hybrid meetings to help everyone feel
included and able to contribute.

Hybrid work requires new team norms

Few companies have created new team norms to ensure time together is
intentional.

Hybrid employees were asked, “Which of the following have been the biggest
challenges for you personally in working a mix of remote and in person?” Remote
employees were asked if they were “thriving or struggling” when it comes to
feeling included in meetings. Leaders were asked, “What has your company done to
ensure remote workers are not disadvantaged/have an equal opportunity to succeed
and contribute?”

Illustration by Valerio Pellegrini

Data suggests companies are making progress on investments in space and
technology, but there’s more work to do on culture. On technology and space,
monthly use of Microsoft Teams Rooms, optimized for hybrid collaboration, has
more than doubled year-over-year. And 54% of leaders are currently redesigning
meeting spaces for hybrid work, or plan to in the year ahead. However, despite
43% of remote employees and 44% of hybrid employees saying they do not feel
included in meetings, just 27% of organizations have established new hybrid work
meeting etiquette.

Key takeaway: Leaders must establish the why, when, and how of the office. This
means defining the purpose of in-person collaboration, creating team agreements
on when to come together in person, defining hybrid meeting etiquette, and
rethinking how space can play a supporting role. Organizations that fail to
grasp the new intentionality required to define the role of the office risk
missing out on the true benefits of hybrid work.

Microsoft’s new hybrid meeting etiquette will be posted physically and digitally
for the company’s 180,000 employees in over 100 countries around the world.

4.

Flexible work doesn’t have to mean “always on.”

252%

Increase in weekly time spent in meetings for the average Teams user since
February 2020

32%

Increase in chats sent per person since March 2020

The trillions of anonymized productivity signals across Microsoft 365 show
flexible work in action. But as employees make flexible work work for them,
there’s still a need to combat digital exhaustion.

On the face of it, for the average Teams user, meetings, chat, workday span, and
after-hours and weekend work have all risen over the past two years.³

Meetings are still consuming a lion’s share of our time. Since February 2020,
the average Teams user saw a 252% increase in their weekly meeting time and the
number of weekly meetings has increased 153%. The average Teams user sent 32%
more chats each week in February 2022 compared to March 2020 and that figure
continues to climb. Workday span for the average Teams user has increased more
than 13% (46 minutes) since March 2020, and after-hours and weekend work has
grown even more quickly, at 28% and 14%, respectively.


WORK IS MORE FLEXIBLE, BUT DIGITAL OVERLOAD IS STILL A RISK

After-hours work and workday span are still increasing, as are the number of
weekly meetings and chats per person.

MarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanFebMar202020212022-50%0%50%100%150%Percent
change since March 2020Number of meetings per personChats per personAverage
after-hours workAverage workday span

Analysis of collaboration activity across Microsoft 365 tools the past two
years. This visualization is based on aggregated data, without personal or
organization-identifying information.

Making flexible work sustainable

Tips from Mary Czerwinski and Shamsi Iqbal, two Microsoft researchers with
decades of experience studying productivity, focus, and wellbeing.

 * Too many meetings
    * Make it a team practice to ask, “Could we cover this in email or chat
      instead?”
    * Look for opportunities to divide and conquer meetings with team members
    * Use the “required” and “optional” lines of meeting invites to help people
      prioritize their time
    * Block focus time on your calendar for personal productivity and wellbeing,
      and protect it
    * As a team, consider designating certain days or time blocks “meeting-free”

 * Lack of energy / focus due to back to back meetings
    * Share an agenda ahead of the meeting and assign an owner to each part
    * Create team norms around established breaks between meetings (e.g., start
      all meetings at five or 10 minutes after the hour)
    * Keep meetings as short as possible; if they’re longer than 30 minutes,
      include a five-minute break
    * Avoid scheduling large, presentation-only meetings in the first hour of
      the workday, when people tend to multitask and catch up on emails and
      to-dos

 * Chats of emails from colleagues outside of working hours or during meetings
    * Use the delay delivery feature in Outlook for emails outside of
      established working hours
    * As a team, set expectations on response time to emails and chats sent
      outside of working hours
    * Use NOT URGENT in the headline of emails or chats when your colleague is
      in a meeting or it’s outside of working hours

 * Working in different time zones
    * Share meeting-related documents ahead of time and ask for comments so
      participants can review asynchronously
    * Record meetings and share notes with invitees afterward

Despite the digital overload, people are making flexible work their own, taking
control of their time and reshaping the workday. Productivity patterns in
Outlook show people are becoming more intentional about taking breaks, avoiding
double booking, and establishing meeting-free work blocks. Between March 2021
and February 2022, anonymized Outlook calendar data shows the average number of
overlapping meetings per person per month decreased by 44%. Compared to last
year, teams are starting meetings later on Mondays and wrapping up earlier on
Fridays. There are also fewer noon meetings, which may point to people taking a
midday break. More employees are also using their vacation time, with
out-of-office time blocks on calendars increasing by 10% in the past year.

While meetings are up overall, they are getting shorter and more ad hoc. As
employees find digital equivalents to the “drive by” or “hallway” conversation,
unscheduled, ad hoc calls have risen 8% in the past two years and now make up
64% of all Teams meetings. And meetings under 15 minutes now make up a majority
of all meetings (60%) and are increasing more than any other meeting length (39%
between February 2021 and 2022).

The data also shows the shift to asynchronous work as part of the new normal.
Monthly use of meeting recordings that allow people to catch up on meetings,
training, and town halls on demand has more than doubled since March 2020⁴. And
new patterns—like the “triple peak day”—are emerging as some people leave the 9
to 5 behind to do what works for them.

“Because everyone is working at different times and in different places, it’s
important to shift as much work as you can to be asynchronous and get really
intentional about the use of the synchronous time you have together,” says Jaime
Teevan, Microsoft’s Chief Scientist.


MEETING HABITS ARE CHANGING

Meetings now start later on Mondays and finish earlier on Fridays, and there are
fewer meetings at lunchtime. While 9-11 a.m. is the most used meeting time, 2-3
p.m. is rising in popularity.

.5%1%1.5%2%2.5%% of meetings6 am7 am8 am9 am10 am11 am12 pm1 pm2 pm3 pm4 pm5 pm6
pm7 pm8 pm6 am7 am8 am9 am10 am11 am12 pm1 pm2 pm3 pm4 pm5 pm6 pm7 pm8
pm20212022MonTuesWedThursFriMonTuesWedThursFri


Analysis of collaboration activity across Microsoft 365 tools the past two
years. This visualization is based on aggregated data, without personal or
organization-identifying information.

Taken altogether, the data indicates that employees are doing what they can to
make flexible work their own but making flexible work sustainable long-term will
require new team norms to guard against being “always on.”

Key takeaway: Teams need to create new norms around flexible work to reduce time
spent in meetings and empower people to hit the off switch. This should not be a
solo effort, but a team-led movement to establish more sustainable hybrid work
practices.

THE METAVERSE IS COMING TO WORK.

We also asked respondents about emerging technologies at work.

 * 52% of employees are open to using digital immersive spaces in the metaverse
   for meetings or team activities in the next year.
 * 47% of employees are open to representing themselves as an avatar in meetings
   in the next year.
 * 51% of Gen Z and 48% of Millennials envision doing some of their work in the
   metaverse in the next two years.
 * 16% of employees say they never expect to do any work in the metaverse.
 * 13% of employees say they don’t know what the term ‘metaverse’ means.

“Avatars and the metaverse bring us one step closer to making people feel like
they’re together even when they are physically apart,” says Mar Gonzalez Franco,
principal researcher at Microsoft Research. “Our early research shows that when
compared to an audio-only call, people feel more engaged, more present, and even
more comfortable when using an avatar in a meeting. The people you are speaking
with are better able to see your body language, and back-and-forth conversations
feel more natural.”

Leaders need to consider how emerging technologies like the metaverse and AI can
augment collaboration and facilitate co-creation and creativity in a distributed
work world.

Millennials and Gen Z are more likely to envision doing some of their work in
the metaverse in the next two years.

Illustrations by Brown Bird Design
5.

Rebuilding social capital looks different in a hybrid world.

51%

of hybrid employees say they’re likely to go remote in the year ahead.

43%

of leaders say relationship-building is the greatest challenge in remote and
hybrid work.

One of the most felt aspects of remote and hybrid work is the impact it’s had on
our relationships. Last year’s Work Trend Index revealed that teams became more
siloed, and this year’s study shows the trend one year later.

Work Friends Matter, Too

In addition to looking at formal workplace relationships, our research explored
deeper workplace friendships.

 * 59% of hybrid employees and 56% of remote employees have fewer work
   “friendships” since going hybrid or remote.
 * This may be contributing to feelings of loneliness. 55% of hybrid employees
   and 50% of remote employees feel lonelier at work than before going hybrid or
   remote.
 * 66% of respondents say doing informal coffee chats virtually feels like “more
   of a chore” than an in-person get together.

Organizational psychologist Constance Noonan Hadley describes loneliness at work
as the belief that, “Few people truly know me or would support me in my time of
need.” And research shows loneliness at work brings health problems, reduced
productivity, turnover, and burnout.

Hadley says, “Without a new approach, employee isolation and disconnection will
continue to grow—regardless of whether people are back in the office. The
post-pandemic transition provides the perfect opportunity to put the structures
and rewards in place to facilitate a more connected workforce.”

Managers should prioritize time for employees to connect in more deep and
authentic ways beyond the to-do list and foster a culture that rewards
psychological safety, so employees can be vulnerable and lean on each other for
support when needed.

While a majority of hybrid employees seem to be maintaining their work
relationships, only half of remote workers say they have a thriving relationship
with their direct team, and even fewer have a strong relationship with those
outside their team.

In a digital-first work world, where 51% of hybrid employees are considering a
shift to remote work in the year ahead, we can no longer rely solely on the
office to recoup the social capital we’ve lost. Leaders must be intentional
about reconnecting both hybrid and remote employees into the fabric of the
organization.

This won’t be a trivial task—43% of leaders say relationship-building is the
greatest challenge in hybrid and remote work—but it’s one worth prioritizing.
Building social capital is crucial for organizational success. Employees who
have thriving relationships with their immediate team members report better
wellbeing than those with poor relationships (76% versus 57%). They also report
higher productivity (50% versus 36%) and are less likely to change employers in
the year ahead (61% versus 39%).

Strengthening networks outside of the immediate team matters, too. Employees
with thriving relationships beyond their immediate team members say they’re more
satisfied with their employer (76% versus 57%), more fulfilled by work (79%
versus 59%), and have a more positive outlook on workplace stress (40% versus
30%) than those with weak organizational networks. Having a broad network also
fuels career opportunities within a company—LinkedIn data shows that employees
at companies with high internal mobility stay almost twice as long.

“When people trust one another and have [social] capital, you get a willingness
to take risks, you get more innovation and creativity and less groupthink.”

Nancy Baym, Principal Researcher, Microsoft Research

Our research shows many hybrid employees have been successful at maintaining
their workplace relationships. More than half (58%) say they have a thriving
relationship with their direct team, and 48% say they have a thriving
relationship with people outside their immediate team. However, these numbers
dip to 50% and 42%, respectively, for remote employees—highlighting the need for
leaders to help fully remote employees build strong and broad networks.

Employees who onboarded the past two years also need extra support. Nearly
two-thirds (62%) of leaders are concerned new employees aren’t getting the
support they need since moving to hybrid or remote work—and for good reason. The
data shows that employees hired since March 2020 are less likely to feel
included (60% versus 64%), have weaker relationships with their direct team (51%
versus 55%), and are at greater risk of attrition (56% versus 38% are likely to
leave their employer in the year ahead).

THE IMPACT OF STRONG WORKPLACE RELATIONSHIPS

Research shows the massive benefits of thriving relationships within and outside
of your direct team.
Direct TeamBroader Organization

Respondents were asked several questions on this topic, such as, “Would you say
you are thriving or struggling with the following types of bonds or
relationships at work?” and “When thinking about your network/social circle at
work, how much do you agree or disagree with the following statements?”
Illustration by Valerio Pellegrini

The data shows employees are ready to stop emailing and start connecting. While
48% of employees say they want to spend less time on things like answering
emails and scheduling meetings and more time networking, just 30% of leaders
feel that networking-related activities drive business impact. To reap the
benefits of social capital, leaders need to make time and space for employees to
build their networks and deepen relationships beyond the transactional in a
hybrid world.

“When work-life balance is out of whack, most people cut out
relationship-building for more urgent matters,” says Constance Noonan Hadley, an
organizational psychologist who studies workplace relationships. “Regardless of
remote status, building relationships will still feel like a luxury workers
cannot afford unless there is a shift in how time is prioritized and valued by
managers.”

Key takeaway: Leaders should not see a return to the office as the only solve
for rebuilding the social capital we’ve lost over the past two years. They
should prioritize time for relationship-building to happen, knowing remote and
newly onboarded employees will need extra support. Managers play a crucial role
in fostering close team bonds and acting as dot connectors to help employees
broaden their networks.

The Way Forward



The past two years have made a lasting imprint on work—the impact of which will
be felt long into the future. The new “worth it” equation is not a zero-sum
game. Employees value flexibility and wellbeing, and these great expectations
create an opportunity for every organization to reimagine work-life integration
as a win-win.

Download the full report



Great Expectations: Making Hybrid Work Work

Giving people agency to do their best work is not only in their best
interest—it’s good for business. To make hybrid work work, leaders need to
empower managers to be the culture keepers, rethink the role of the office,
rebuild social capital for a digital-first workforce, and create new practices
for sustainable flexible work. Technology plays a key role, but this moment
calls for a new mindset. As the world continues to evolve, organizations that
take a culture-first, learn-it-all approach will come out ahead.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Learn more about how Microsoft is innovating to help organizations make hybrid
work work.

Download the full report

¹ The number of hybrid employees in our Work Trend Index surveys is up seven
percentage points year-over-year.

² The 50% of business leaders who say their company already requires or plans to
require full-time in-person work in the year ahead reflects leaders who are in
information worker roles. It does not include leaders who work in frontline
settings such as hospitals, warehouses, retail settings, etc.

³ Workday span: Time between the first and last meeting or chat of the day for
the average Teams user. After hours work: Average span between the first Teams
chat/call/meeting after 5pm local time to the last signal for the day. Weekend
work: Average span between the first Teams meeting/call/chat to the last signal
on Saturdays and Sundays.

⁴ Monthly usage of Microsoft’s Stream platform as a way for employees to work
asynchronously has more than doubled between March 2020 and February 2022.

Methodology and Audience Definitions:

The Work Trend Index survey was conducted by an independent research firm,
Edelman Data x Intelligence, among 31,102 full-time employed or self-employed
workers across 31 markets between January 7, 2022 and February 16, 2022. This
survey was 20 minutes in length and conducted online, in either the English
language or translated into a local language across markets. At least 1,000
full-time workers were surveyed in each market, and global results have been
aggregated across all responses to provide an average. Each market is evenly
weighted within the global average. Each market was sampled to be representative
of the full-time workforce across age, gender, and region; each sample included
a mix of work environments (in-person, remote vs. non-remote, office settings
vs. non-office settings, etc.), industries, company sizes, tenures, and job
levels.

Markets surveyed include:

Australia and New Zealand (ANZ): Australia, New Zealand; Asia-Pacific (APAC):
China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore,
South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam; Europe: Czech Republic, Finland, France,
Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom;
Latin America (LATAM): Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico; North America:
Canada, United States.

Audiences mentioned in the report are defined as follows:

 * Frontline Workers: self-selected at time of survey fielding as being required
   to be in person to do their job and do not work at a traditional “desk
   setting” (for example, work at a healthcare facility, school, construction
   site, or warehouse).
 * Hybrid Workers: self-selected at time of survey fielding as currently working
   a mix of in person and remote, at least one day every other week in a typical
   week.
 * Remote Workers: self-selected at time of survey fielding as currently working
   remotely every day of the week in a typical week.
 * Information Workers: self-selected at time of survey fielding that their
   typical work setting is at a desk (whether in an office or at home). This
   group includes those who are in person or working remotely in some capacity.
 * Business Leaders/Business Decision Makers: those in mid to upper job levels
   (i.e., SVP, VP, Sr. Director, General Manager, EVP, C-Suite, President, etc.)
   and have at least some influence on decision-making related to hiring,
   budgeting, employee benefits, internal communications, operations, etc.
 * Non-Business Decision Makers: employees who are not in mid to upper job
   levels and have no influence on decision-making related to hiring, budgeting,
   employee benefits, internal communications, operations, etc.
 * Managers: Employees who manage at least one employee as a direct report.
   Managers can be BDMs or non-BDMs.

Good Medicine


HOW HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY LEADERS CAN HELP FIGHT BURNOUT

Experiments


WHAT DOES ‘FLEXIBLE WORK’ REALLY MEAN?

What's new
 * Surface Pro 8
 * Surface Laptop Studio
 * Surface Pro X
 * Surface Go 3
 * Surface Duo 2
 * Surface Pro 7+
 * Windows 11 apps
 * HoloLens 2

Microsoft Store
 * Account profile
 * Download Center
 * Microsoft Store support
 * Returns
 * Order tracking
 * Virtual workshops and training
 * Microsoft Store Promise
 * Flexible Payments

Education
 * Microsoft in education
 * Devices for education
 * Microsoft Teams for Education
 * Microsoft 365 Education
 * Education consultation appointment
 * Educator training and development
 * Deals for students and parents
 * Azure for students

Business
 * Microsoft Cloud
 * Microsoft Security
 * Azure
 * Dynamics 365
 * Microsoft 365
 * Microsoft Advertising
 * Microsoft Industry
 * Microsoft Teams

Developer & IT
 * Developer Center
 * Documentation
 * Microsoft Learn
 * Microsoft Tech Community
 * Azure Marketplace
 * AppSource
 * Microsoft Power Platform
 * Visual Studio

Company
 * Careers
 * About Microsoft
 * Company news
 * Privacy at Microsoft
 * Investors
 * Diversity and inclusion
 * Accessibility
 * Sustainability

 * Sitemap
 * Contact Microsoft
 * Privacy
 * Manage cookies
 * Terms of use
 * Trademarks
 * Safety & eco
 * About our ads
 * © Microsoft 2022