73% Employees Want Flexible Remote Work To Continue, Says Microsoft

Seventy-three percent of workers around the world want flexible remote work options to continue, Microsoft said in a blog post based on the findings from its first annual ‘Work Trend Index’.?

However, with 67 percent saying they are craving more in-person time with their teams, the post-pandemic workplace will be defined by extreme flexibility and hybrid work. And to better accommodate hybrid work environments, two-third business decision makers are considering redesigning physical spaces.?

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Leaders thrive as employees struggle?

As it turns out, business leaders may be too narrowly focused on where to invest. Even after a year of working from home, 42 per cent of employees say they lack essential office supplies at home, and one in 10 don’t have an adequate internet connection to do their work. Over 46 per cent claim their employer does not help them with remote work expenses.?

The report outlines findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries and analyses trillions of aggregate productivity and labor signals across Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn.?

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased disparity between business leaders and employees. Sixty-one percent of leaders say they are “thriving” right now--23 percentage points higher than those without decision-making authority.?

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And the workers are feeling the disconnect. Thirty-seven percent of the global workforce says their companies are asking too much of them at a time like this.?

An exhausted workforce?

One in five global survey respondents say their employer doesn’t care about their work-life balance. Fifty-four percent feel overworked. Thirty-nine percent feel exhausted.?

Time spent in meetings has more than doubled globally; there’s a 66 percent increase in the number of people working on documents; and over 40 billion more emails were delivered in the month of February of this year compared to last year.

"Over 40 per cent of the global workforce is considering leaving their employer this year and 46 per cent are planning to move now that they can work remotely,” the report added.?

But it's the?Gen Z who seem to be suffering more than anyone right now. Sixty percent of this generation--those between the ages of 18 and 25--say they are merely surviving or flat-out struggling right now.?