A new study found that almost half of workers would quit their roles if their company ended hybrid working and instituted a full-time in-office policy.
Owl Labs’ annual State of Hybrid Work Report illustrated several compelling findings about the current culture around work practices and featured intimations about what direction both workers and leaders envision for the future of work. One such intimation was the eye-catching figure that 47 percent of employees polled would leave a business if it mandated a full-time return to office (RTO).
The Report polled 2,000 full-time employees across the UK and 8,000 respondents globally. It also found that 17 percent of workers would expect a pay increase if they could no longer work hybrid or remotely. Additionally, a mere 11 percent of employees favour working in the office full time. The most preferred number of in-office days is three, with 35 percent of respondents opting for this arrangement.
Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs, commented:
It’s clear from our data that employees – regardless of age – are craving more authentic employment experiences that allow them to follow their passions and foster more meaningful connections. Tired of burnout, workers are looking for novel ways to tackle workplace stress. With 55 percent of employees having worked remotely from places besides a home office or coworking space, trends such as workcations or ‘quiet vacationing’ are on the rise.”
Workers Increasingly Valuing Healthy Work/Life Balances And The Rise Of ‘Clock Blocking’ And ‘Coffee Badging’
Owl Labs’ research found that the primary reason employees are seeking new jobs is to achieve a better work-life balance. Fifty percent cite this as their motivation, an increase from 41 percent in 2023.
As the UK Government deliberates on granting its workers the right to request a four-day working week, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of employees are willing to forgo a portion of their salary for this arrangement, up from 65 percent in 2023. Additionally, Owl Labs found that 76 percent of workers are prepared to sacrifice some of their salary for flexible working hours.
One in five workers won’t answer work messages outside of work hours, while Owl Labs noted that 19 percent reinforce work/life boundaries by not taking on work outside their specific job descriptions.
Regarding meetings, 61 percent of employees feel that starting meetings at 8 am or earlier is too early, while 92 percent believe that meetings scheduled after 4:30 pm are too late. Consequently, 63 percent of workers admit to “clock blocking”, where they reserve time in their calendars to prevent meetings.
The trend of “coffee badging”, where employees spend a few hours in the office before heading home to continue their workday remotely, has gained popularity since last year and even prompted Amazon to begin tracking the length of time workers spend in the office.
Currently, 39 percent of workers engage in this practice, up from 23 percent in 2023. Interestingly, managers seem to support this trend. While almost two-thirds of workers who admit to “coffee badging” have been caught by their employers, over half (54 percent) reported that their employer didn’t mind.
The RTO/Hybrid Debate Coming To A Head
Four years after the pandemic, the divide between workers who value flexible working and work/life balance and leaders who want a return to pre-pandemic processes of full-time working seems stark.
Owl Labs’ research suggests that nearly half of workers would leave a company if it rescinded its hybrid work policy and that almost one-fifth would expect a pay raise if they were to return to the office. This contrasts with companies like Dell and Amazon mandating at least some of their corporate workers return to the office full-time. At the same time, Dell has connected in-office attendance with promotion. Salesforce instituted a “four-to-five days a week” RTO mandate in July.
This trend supports the findings of KPMG’s CEO Outlook survey for 2023, which highlighted that almost two-thirds of CEOs want to kill hybrid work within three years.
A survey of 1,325 CEOs from businesses with revenues exceeding $500 million revealed that 64 percent plan to return to a fully on-site work model within the next three years. Additionally, 87 percent of CEOs aim to achieve this goal by linking financial incentives and promotion opportunities to on-site attendance.
However, Owl Labs’ research is supported by other sources, including UC Today‘s own community poll, which suggests that managers and leaders are conflicting with workers regarding hybrid work. With 327 respondents to UC Today’s poll, the most immediately striking figure is that only a minority, comprising 3 percent of respondents, favoured the traditional “fully in-office” model, while 82 percent combined favoured fully remote or “hybrid, in-office one or two days a week”.
As new research continues to show, many workers not only feel more productive, healthier, and happier in flexible work arrangements but also prioritise them ahead of salary and promotion opportunities. It will be fascinating to see how this conflict resolves itself.
