We’ve come out of the pandemic changed in many ways – we’ve quarantined, shopped local, and learned all about proper masking. But one way we may be forever changed is with hybrid working arrangements.
So much so, remote work is actually more common now than ever before. As of 2022, 26% of U.S. employees now work remotely, which is four times the amount of people who worked remotely prior. Furthermore, it’s estimated that by 2025, there could be as many as 36.2 million Americans working remotely.
But with any abrupt change, there comes growing pains. Dr. Paul White, from Appreciation at Work, has conducted research on this very topic. He and his team have identified key issues with hybrid work, why they arise, and how to handle them.
In case you missed our webinar with Dr. White, catch the replay here. Or read the interview summary below.
Interview with Dr. Paul White
How many companies were remote/hybrid pre-pandemic? How many are now?
The proportion of workers who were remote had been steadily increasing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. About 30% were working at least one day/week from home (which we would now call “hybrid”). Less than 10% were working fully remotely.
Researchers state that currently over 40% of employees work some of their week remotely, while about 25% are working full-time as remote employees.
What are the biggest challenges associated with the surge of remote/hybrid workers?
The rapid influx of large numbers of remote and hybrid employees has created significant challenges in communication patterns among team members, the process of onboarding and training, and tensions across different types of workers – some of whom (for example, doctors and nurses) are usually not able to work remotely while others in their organization (accounting, administration) are.
Interview With Dr. Paul White
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