The sentence that best summarizes 2022 is undoubtedly “hybrid working”. It is the arrangement expected to best balance working in a physical office and working remotely, for both employees and the management team. Although hybrid working sounds like “the perfect match” between the before and after pandemics, it proves to be challenging for managers to handle because they need to coordinate an increasingly flexible workforce, accommodate diverse needs, redefine performance and accountability. "Hybrid" is not just a work schedule or employee benefit, but an entirely new way of working together.

According to a Gallup’s survey, for the majority of employees with remote-capable jobs, remote work flexibility looks to be swiftly turning into a regular aspect of the workweek, with 9 of 10 preferring some degree of long-term remote flexibility in the future and nearly 8 out of 10 expecting it from their employer.

Given this shift in where and how remote-capable people work, the next key question for business leaders is how to best arrange hybrid work schedules, ensure proper adoption of technology to support hybrid working, foster company engagement while enhancing productivity and innovation. To help you navigate this unstable landscape, we gathered some of the most relevant statistics related to the future life of hybrid working.

Hybrid Workplace Model Adoption Statistics

• Gallup found that 4 in 10 employees want to be in the office 2 to 3 days per week.
• At the same time, 3 in 10 employees would prefer spending roughly 1 or 2 days in the office each week.
• Most employees agree that a moderate amount of time in the office is important, as from February 2022 to May 2022 the number of hybrid working employees has gradually increased from 13 to 24%. 
• In its “Future of Work” survey, Accenture reveals that the “productivity everywhere” model is used by 63% of high-growing companies.
• Moreover, 85% of employees who believe they can be effective anywhere intend to remain with their current employer for a very long time. 
• However, 37% of employees think about switching jobs if they can’t work remotely.
• A staggering 83% of workers intend to leave the job if paid less for working from home.
• PwC’s Global Workforce Hopes and Fears 2022 Survey found that 62% of employees prefer some mix of in-person and remote work
• 63% of respondents said they expect their company to offer that kind of approach in the next 12 months, compared with 72% in the 2021 survey. 
• 74% of CFOs plan to shift at least 5% of their previously on-site workforce to permanently remote positions, which suggests that many organizations are considering a hybrid model in which some employees work remotely while others continue to work on site.

Hybrid Workplace Challenges

• Statista reported that 43% of remote workers in 2022 felt that the most challenging part of working remotely and in person was not feeling included in meetings.
• Gallup found that, in terms of favorite hybrid arrangement, 4 out of 10 employees say they want complete autonomy to come and go as they choose, while 6 out of 10 want more structure. 
• Bloomberg reported that each American can save 1.8 hours per day for the commuting time, which they are now using to get more sleep and thus, grow their productivity.
• 45% of the respondents surveyed by PwC can’t work remotely, reporting less satisfaction with their job than those working in hybrid or fully remote work settings (50% versus 63%).
• 26% of employees would prefer full-time remote work, but only 18% said their employer is likely to adopt that model. 
• Another 18% said that their employer is likely to require full-time in-person work, which just 11% of employees prefer.
• Among the 17% of full-time remote workers having been surveyed by PwC, more than two-thirds were concerned about missing out on development opportunities. These employees, who are likely to be younger, need a more proactive approach to performance management and career development.
• If the ability to work from home was taken away, 66% of workers would immediately start looking for a job that offered flexibility, and 39% would simply quit.
• If workers were no longer allowed to work remote or hybrid, 67% would expect an increase in pay to compensate for the additional costs, while 46$ would stay in their jobs but quietly quit.

Hybrid Work Statistics for Productivity

• Stanford University showed that remote employees are 13.5% more productive than their office-based counterparts.
• Moreover, 9% of remote workers are more engaged in their jobs.
• 50% of remotely working employees are less likely to quit.
• McKinsey found that 58% of the executives reported improvement in their organization’s productivity, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, and diversity and inclusion.
• 54% of execs reported improvement regarding inclusion and diversity in the workplace.
• A 45% increase in employee engagement and 36% increase in customer satisfaction were also reported.
• Airtasker found that remote employees worked 1.4 more days per month than those who worked in an office.
• Moreover, while office workers reported losing an average of 37 minutes per workday to distractions (excluding lunch and standard breaks), remote employees only lost 27 minutes per workday.
• The Economist reported that 34% of respondents said that face-to-face interruptions from colleagues was the biggest reason they lose focus at work.
• 36% of the Economist survey respondents indicated that they felt more focused working at home than in their office, compared to 28% who reported feeling less focused.
• But the distractions shift. Nearly 30% of respondents identify the temptation to relax as the dominant distraction.
• 24% of remote employees feel disconnected from their office colleagues.
• 12% of remote workers have an increased reliance on chat tools for work.
• 14% of employees working remotely have been confronted with a lack of stable or insecure internet connection.

Hybrid Working Compensation Forecasts

• A Gallup’s survey found that more than 56% of remote capable employees will not give up any percentage of their salary for work location flexibility.
• On the other hand, over 97% of employers report they won’t reduce pay for partially remote employees. 
• However, 21% of employers would adjust their salaries with respect to an employee’s contribution, geographical location, as well as concerns about company culture. 
• 92% of employers don’t have a system in place for determining compensation for employees who work remotely only part of the time
• 34% of employers wouldn’t hire a fully remote employee in a different geographic market at the same rate as an on-site employee.
• Nonetheless, 94% of employees believe that salaries should be determined by skill set and not where they are located
• 83% of employees would leave their current job if their compensation was lowered due to them working remotely.
• According to a 2022 Owl Labs survey, 52% of employees would take a pay cut of 5% or more to have flexibility in working location, with 23% saying they would take a pay cut of 10% or more.

Health and Wellness Statistics

• 56% of workers surveyed by Ergotron mentioned increased physical exercise, better work-life balance, and improved mental health due to a hybrid working model.
• An early 2022 Owl Labs study indicated that remote and hybrid employees were 22% happier and stayed in their jobs longer than workers in an onsite office environment. Remote employees also had less stress, more focus and were more productive than when they worked in the office.
• Nevertheless, according to Statista, 25% of respondents consider that the most difficult aspect of working remotely is not being able to unplug. Because many individuals who work from home do not have a distinct office, they have a conflation of their living environment and workplace.
• 45% of workers say their level of work-related stress has increased somewhat or substantially in the past year.
• However, more than 1/3 of respondents said they had no difficulties working remotely.
• Employee burnout is now a serious problem, with 75% of workers in recent research wishing their workplace provided some type of mental health assistance.
• In a Microsoft survey, 20% of respondents say their employer doesn’t care about work-life balance: 54% feel overworked and 39% feel exhausted.
• Work-life balance is more important than ever. 66% of respondents say that emphasizing work-life balance is vital in improving company culture in a post-pandemic environment.
• Employees spend 5 out of 8 working hours per day in a seated position, despite more physical freedom beyond the traditional office walls, employees are largely sedentary.
• 88% of respondent employees agree that the flexibility to work from home or the office has increased their job satisfaction.

Statistics for Business Leaders

• According to the Owl Labs’ “State of Remote Work 2022” study, 42% of employees would prefer to work fully remote, yet only 31% of employers are offering that option. 
• When it comes to hybrid work, 31% of employees have a hybrid work preference, and 29% of employers are willing to meet them there, which means a hybrid working mode represents a good place to meet needs on both sides.
• Prior to the pandemic, only 8% of companies had flexible workplace policies in place - whereas today, 62% of employees say that their company has implemented at least some degree of flexible work.
• Mid-size companies (501-5K employees) are leading the way with 70% implementing flexible work policies.
• 64% of CEOs feel that flexible work arrangements stimulate their personnel.To improve the workplace, most business leaders are considering the usage of health and wellness management applications as well as other hybrid work technologies such as digital and virtual collaboration resources, workplace management platforms, training platforms etc.
• 45% of CEOs expect collaboration as one of the top ways to improve company culture by returning to the office.
• 61% of CEOs believe the camaraderie and morale will enhance corporate culture if people would get back to the office work.
• 72% of businesses don’t have a formal process in place for figuring out pay for totally remote employees.
• According to McKinsey, 90% of employers plan to offer some hybrid model in the coming future. 
• Moreover, in the next 12 months, 87% of the executives anticipate altering their real estate protocols.
• Statista also pointed out that 72% of business leaders in US are planning to adjust investment levels in tools for virtual collaboration
• 70% of leaders are planning to invest in IT infrastructure to secure virtual connectivity
• 64% of executives want to ensure training for managers to manage a more virtual workforce
• 50% of business leaders want to invest more in conference rooms with enhanced connectivity
• 50% will also invest in hoteling and desk booking applications.

Hybrid Workplace Model Statistics for Technology

Investing in space and technology to bridge the physical and digital worlds was one of the points marked with high priority on the execs’ agendas. The level of expectations employees have of the technology they use for work should mirror those they are using on a daily basis. They should be able to communicate, do their jobs, and engage in broader work processes through the use of intuitive interfaces and smooth UX with innovation, at work. 

• In a recent Statista survey, 79% of employees stated using collaboration tools for work in 2021. This is an increase of 44% compared to the 2019 figure. 
• According to 34% of respondents in a recent Prudential Financial Inc. survey, businesses ought to give employees the tools they need to set up a home office.
• In the past year, 58% of the employees working from home said they started using workplace collaboration tools more than in the previous year (daily tools that integrate seamlessly with popular platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, Trello, Asana and others, make the user experience more pleasant).
• Global revenues with collaboration software will likely hit $14 billion in 2022, an increase of $800 million year-over-year.
• 48% of a Statista survey respondents state having invested in cloud-enabled tools and technologies to support their remote workforce.
• 47% of companies invested in digital collaboration tools.
• 41% of companies invested in productivity management tools.
• 24% of businesses haven’t updated their remote work security policies in more than a year.
• Nevertheless, about 1 in 5 respondents think there is insufficient adoption or change management when a new tool for hybrid working is introduced, which is why considering your employees' needs before introducing a new technology creates a workplace that encourages collaboration and direct feed-back.

Many organizations are working to establish a solid foundation for their new normal in the face of so much uncertainty. However, businesses may find themselves stuck in hybrid work policies and regulations, when they actually owe to provide the environment most conducive to productivity, flexibility and connectivity in order to succeed. On the other hand, all signs indicate that the hybrid working model is fast becoming a new expectation of the workforce, so employers equipped with the most accurate data will be able to best respond to the opportunities and challenges lying ahead.