The Future of Work: Is it Hybrid, Remote, or In-Office?

This may sound like a cliché, but our first-hand research and interviews with small businesses shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has radically transformed the way companies think about work. Long gone are the days when employees would be shackled to their desks five days a week, and would need to ward off rush-hour rage to get into the office.

What is definitely not cliché is the direction the conversation around hybrid work is heading in. As new priorities, such as mental health and staff retention during a recession enter the stage, employees are increasingly reconsidering the relationship they want with their job. Therefore, as an employer, it’s crucial to think about switching from seeing remote work as a temporary reaction to the pandemic, to a permanent structural change that has long-term spill over benefits.

As the trend continues to grow, it’s important to remember that hybrid or remote work is not a cure-all for all businesses. What works for one company may not necessarily work for another.

During our discussion with numerous local businesses, we found that there are certainly lots of trends that speak loudly in favor of hybrid work. And, importantly, many of these trends seem to offer a solution to some contemporary business challenges, like finding ways of slashing expenses as inflation continues to rise.

So, whether you’re considering hybrid work as a short-term arrangement, or as a structural change to the way you approach work, it seems that hybrid work is here to stay.

Hybrid and Remote Work: What Do The Numbers Say?

What do employers and employees think about moving away from traditional in-office work? Here is what we found:

• 74% of US companies are using, or plan to, implement a permanent hybrid work model
• 63% of high-growth companies use a ‘productive anywhere’ hybrid work model
• 55% of employees want to work remotely at least three days a week
• 59% of employees are more likely to choose an employer that offers remote work opportunities over one that doesn’t
• 83% of workers would prefer a hybrid work model in the future
• On average, companies see a 12% reduction in turnover when they allow their employees to do at least some remote work
• The number of online job searches for remote positions increased by 460% from June 2019 to June 2021
• 48% of businesses we spoke to stated they had introduced flexible or remote work in order to support short and long-term absences, according to our Employee Absenteeism study

What does this reveal about the bigger picture? Workers like and want the option to work remotely. Considering that 60% of employees would consider quitting without a new job offer, employers need to start thinking about the quality of their employees’ experience, and how this can be elevated to keep staff motivated and satisfied with their job. When we surveyed 150 businesses about their experience with hybrid work, we also found that:

• 76% of them have adopted a hybrid work style
• 43% of them reported improvements in productivity
• 60% have reported increases in their profit margins due to slashing overhead costs

Therefore, meeting your employees halfway by offering the chance to work remotely has invaluable spill over effects that are manifested in improved productivity and wellbeing of your employees, and in wider profit margins.

Why Should You Hop on The Hybrid Work Bandwagon?

When speaking to small businesses across the country, the verdict on hybrid work was overwhelmingly positive. From cutting down on overhead costs, to improvements in mental health and boosts in productivity, we found that business owners are largely advocates of hybrid work. Here is what they had to say:

MD Energy Advisors – Doing Hybrid But Better

When talking about the different types of work, there are usually three go-to terms: hybrid, remote, and in-office. However, as our way of thinking about work continues to evolve, MD Energy Advisors have taken this a step further and offered a slightly different arrangement – work from where you’re most productive.

Expert Market spoke with Jason Schwartzberg, Co-Founder of MD Energy Advisors, a business that seeks to better inform companies make energy choices simple and accessible to everyone. Jason revealed that during the pandemic, they were able to grow their team to over 40 employees and “found that many of [their] team members were actually more productive working away from the office and that [their] culture was impacted positively.”

As the pandemic subsided, the company continued to use a ‘work from where you’re most productive’ format, but chose to re-evaluate their office lease.

“We decided that we still wanted to have office space, yet we did not need as large of an office, so we downsized into smaller square footage,” says Jason. “Being that our team members were experiencing success as individuals and as a team, we didn’t want to mandate an in-office policy.” He adds, “For us at MD Energy Advisors, productivity takes precedence over facetime.”

When asked whether he thinks more businesses should adopt the ‘work from where you’re most productive’ model, Jason says, “We understand that there’s not a one-size-fits-all model as all industries are unique. I do believe, however, that we need to see a shift in mindset from employers in clearly communicating to colleagues that they are trusted to make decisions that are in the best interest for them as individuals and as part of the team.”

While it’s unclear whether this model could overtake all others and become the gold standard of hybrid work, Jason tells us, “If we continue to show the team we appreciate them in ways that impact their quality of life, then that is what we are going to continue to do. At MD Energy Advisors, we often say ‘we want our people to win at life so they can win at work’.”