New Employee Hybrid Work Data From Future Forum Pulse
Breakdown of the data from the recently published Future Forum Fall 2022 Pulse survey
The Future Forum Pulse Report Fall 2022 survey has provided some valuable insights into the current differences between Executive and Non-Executive full-time employees around workplace flexibility and The Future of Work. The survey shows that there is a clear separation of preferences and drivers for each group to come into the office, which is causing friction between the company decision makers and its workers..
Executives are reporting record-low experience and sentiment scores
Findings from the survey show that executives' sentiment and experience scores have dropped to record lows as leaders struggle to navigate non-traditional work models when compared to data from the previous year.
Employees with flexibility show higher scores for productivity
According to the report, workers who have full-schedule flexibility are reporting 29% higher productivity and 53% greater ability to focus than workers with no ability to shift their schedule. Although any Hybrid model fits somewhere between these two extremes, the differences show the mutual benefits of allowing flexibility for employees.
Findings from the Pulse show that executives and non-executives alike are embracing the hybrid working model, with 65% of all workers saying they would prefer working some time in the office and some time remotely.
The motivations for going into the office also differ significantly. The information below shows that one of the the main drivers for non-executives is to build camaraderie. This is far less important for executives, who are motiviated by face time with management.
While both groups want a hybrid approach, there is a difference in the detail as executives want to spend more time in the office (3-4 days) and less time remotely, while the opposite is true for non-executives who prefer only 2-3 days per week in the office.
“If you’re thinking in terms of ‘returning’—returning to the old way, returning to the way the office used to be, returning to what worked for you—then it’s time to rethink that direction,” Ryan Anderson, VP of Global Research and Insights at MillerKnoll
Executives who fall prey to confirmation bias and let their own declining experience guide their decision-making around workforce policies risk alienating employees and losing the battle for talent. This is why the solution for the Future of Work will not be found through a top-down approach.