The number of knowledge workers in hybrid working arrangements increased to 58 per cent in November 2021, from 46 per cent in May of last year, according to a new survey by Future Forum, a human resources consortium launched by Slack Technologies Inc.
The survey, which polled more than 10,000 knowledge workers globally, found 68 per cent agreed a hybrid work arrangement is their preferred work environment, with just 30 per cent working from the office every day.
Nearly all (95 per cent) of respondents said they want schedule flexibility as part of their hybrid arrangement, while 78 per cent said they want location flexibility. Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of workers who are dissatisfied with their current level of flexibility said they’re likely to look for a new job in the next year, compared with 58 per cent of all respondents.
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Just over half (52 per cent) of female respondents want to have work location flexibility at least three days a week — compared with 46 per cent of men — and 50 per cent of working mothers want to work remotely most or all of the time, compared with 43 per cent of working fathers. The majority (84 per cent) of men said they work in the office all or some of the time, compared to 79 per cent of women. And 75 per cent of working parents work remotely or hybrid, compared to 63 per cent of non-parents.
Two-fifths (41 per cent) of executives said their top concern with respect to flexible work is the potential for inequities to develop between remote and onsite employees. In addition, 71 per cent of executives said they currently work from the office three or more days a week, compared with 63 per cent of non-executive employees. Of those respondents currently working remotely, executives were far more likely than non-executives to say they want to work at least three days a week in the office (75 per cent versus 37 per cent).
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While 72 per cent of executives believe they’re being transparent about post-coronavirus pandemic remote working policies, only 47 per cent of employees agreed. Among these employees, 20 per cent reported lower employee satisfaction scores.
And while 77 per cent of Black respondents agreed their “manager is supportive when needed” — up significantly from 46 per cent in August 2020 — the survey still found gaps between white (81 per cent) and Hispanic (79 per cent) knowledge workers who agreed with the statement.