Microsoft forecasts the Next Great Disruption as Hybrid Work

Posted by: Devki Yadav 4 hours ago Comments Off on Microsoft forecasts the Next Great Disruption as Hybrid Work

Exclusive research and expert insights reveal urgent trends for leaders to address as the next phase of work unfolds.

 

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 23 March 2021 - Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT) ("Microsoft") today announced the findings from its first annual Work Trend Index. Titled "The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work – Are We Ready?" the report uncovers seven hybrid work trends every business leader needs to know as we enter this new era of work. The report indicates that business leaders should resist the urge to see hybrid work as business as usual.



"The world is on the brink of a disruption as great as last year's sudden shift to remote work: the move to hybrid — a blended model where some employees return to the workplace and others continue to work from home," says Rosalind Quek, General Manager, Modern Workplace, Microsoft Asia. "Adapting to this new hybrid model will require rethinking of long-held assumptions. The choices you make today will impact your organization for years to come. It's a moment that requires clear vision and a growth mindset. These decisions will impact everything from how you shape culture, to how you attract and retain talent, to how you can better foster collaboration and innovation.".

The last year has fundamentally changed the nature of work and shows that we are on the cusp of workplace disruption. The study revealed the following trends among the workforce in Asia[1], Australia and New Zealand, and Japan:

To help organizations through the transition, the 2021 Work Trend Index 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. It also includes perspectives from experts who have studied collaboration, social capital, and space design at work for decades.

Seven global hybrid work trends every business leader needs to know

One thing is abundantly clear: Microsoft is urging businesses to recognize that work is no longer bound to traditional notions of time and space when it comes to how, when, and where we work.

  1. Flexible work is here to stay: 73 percent of workers surveyed want flexible remote work options to continue, while at the same time, 67 percent are craving more in-person time with their teams.
  2. Leaders are out of touch with employees and need a wake-up call: Research shows that 61 percent of leaders say they are thriving right now – 23 percentage points higher than those without decision making power.
  3. High productivity is masking an exhausted workforce: Fifty-four percent feel overworked. Thirty-nine percent feel exhausted. Australia and China were the only two countries where weekly meeting time didn't triple YOY.
  4. Gen Z is at risk and will need to be re-energized: Sixty percent of this generation — those between the ages of 18 and 25 — say they are merely surviving or flat-out struggling.
  5. Shrinking networks are endangering innovation: Aggregate trends across billions of Microsoft Teams meetings and Outlook emails show interactions with our broader networks diminished with the move to remote work
  6. Authenticity will spur productivity and well-being: Coworkers leaned on each other in new ways to get through the last year. 1 in 6 (17 percent) has cried with a colleague, especially those in healthcare (23%), travel and tourism (21 percent), and education (20 percent).
  7. Talent is everywhere in a hybrid work world: Nearly half (46 percent) of those surveyed are planning to move to a new location this year, indicating that people no longer have to leave their desk, house or community to expand their career opportunities.

In addition to uncovering what's at stake with the future of work, the Work Trend Index identifies five strategies for business leaders as they begin to make the necessary shift:

"During this pandemic we've observed a swift acceleration of certain pre-COVID trends. But perhaps one of the most exciting trends is this rise in remote work. As opportunity is democratized with remote work and talent movement, we'll see a spread of skills across the country and this is the time for business leaders to take the opportunity to access to different skills and talent not previously available to them." – Karin Kimbrough, Chief Economist, LinkedIn

To view the full findings, visit Microsoft's Worklab, a digital publication about the future of work.

[1] Surveyed countries for Asia include India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam


About WorkLab

WorkLab is a Microsoft digital publication devoted to illuminating the future of work, grounded in research and the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic. By bringing together science-based insight and thoughtful, compelling stories on how work is changing, WorkLab's mission is to start larger conversations about the future of work and help customers in the process.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT" @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more.


Note to editors:

For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://news.microsoft.com. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at https://news.microsoft.com/microsoft-public-relations-contacts.

Share !