Hybrid working: Why there’s a widening gap between leaders and employees

It’s a workday. You get up, wash, dress and travel to the office… or maybe not.

While most senior leaders want their staff to work collaboratively in an office environment, most employees don’t want to be there all the time, according to a new survey.

Researchers at Ipsos analyzed more than 540,000 survey responses revealing attitudes to hybrid working in 95 countries. The results showed a widening gap between leaders and employees.

Most survey respondents experience benefits from remote working, including more than half who enjoyed more flexible working hours.

Two out of three people surveyed said hybrid working improved their work-life balance and the majority (85%) reported saving both time and money from escaping the daily commute.

Almost a quarter of those surveyed said remote working improved communication and collaboration and led to faster decision making.

Having tried home working during the COVID-19 pandemic, many employees are reluctant to return to the rigours of office life full-time. Fewer than 1 in 10 of those surveyed in fact.

Globally, 68% of respondents favoured a hybrid work routine, while almost a quarter would choose fully remote working.

But there were differences in attitudes between countries, with employees in Singapore, Hong Kong, Germany and the UK most likely to select hybrid working if given free choice.

A high proportion of employees working in countries like India, the USA and Poland would prefer a fully remote working arrangement.

Survey responses from senior leaders tell a different story, however, with just 10% expressing a preference for full-time home working. Middle managers are almost twice as likely than senior managers to want to work remotely, with junior employees almost three times more likely.

A similar divide emerged when survey respondents reflected on the effectiveness of collaboration in different working environments.

Junior employees thought 100% homeworking was more conducive to effective collaboration than hybrid or office-based work, while for senior leaders collaboration peaked in an office setting.

Most middle managers surveyed (71%) thought effective collaboration was most associated with hybrid working.

The survey results highlight a widening experience gap between leaders who want employees to return to the office and employees who have adapted to new patterns of work and want greater flexibility.

So, what happens next?

A changing labour market means leaders may not necessarily decide working arrangements, as the balance of power in many labour markets has shifted to favour employees.

Almost 60% of HR leaders say attracting talent is harder now than before the pandemic.

Companies offering remote or hybrid work options to their employees could be at an advantage when attempting to attract and retain talented employees.

Furthermore, companies that compel staff to return to the office could face resistance. A survey by global recruitment firm Robert Half found that half of US workers would resign rather than be forced to return to office-based working full time, according to the BBC.

But what employees want is not the only consideration. Looking to the future, workers and leaders need to find a balancing act between employee needs and what works for a business in order to find a workable solution.

An important distinction must be made between those with and those without access to the internet. Work must be done to close the digital divide that exists between wealthy and poorer parts of society, and between wealthy nations and developing countries that may lack the digital infrastructure and resources to access remote working.

In countries and companies where a hybrid model can be adopted, the Ipsos survey outlines the need for both managers and employees to embrace remote ways of working and devise a clear company strategy for hybrid success.