
Currently, nine in 10 remote-capable employees prefer some degree of remote-work flexibility going forward, and six in 10 specifically prefer hybrid work. These changes will result in an office environment like we have never seen before, nearly doubling the number of people who will be working remotely at least part of their week (compared with pre-pandemic numbers).Įmployees largely like where these changes are headed. About 53% expect a hybrid arrangement, and 24% expect to work exclusively remotely. When asked where they plan to work long term - according to the plans their employer communicated - remote-capable employees confirmed that a hybrid work schedule will be the predominant office arrangement going forward. What remote-work options are employers planning? What do employees want? Given the unprecedented number of employees now working hybrid or fully remote, the future of the office is at a turning point. Most remote-capable employees continued to work from home at least part of the time, but the mix became a nearly even split - 42% had a hybrid schedule, and 39% worked entirely from home. Then the pandemic hit, and the vast majority of remote-capable employees were forced to work from home in some capacity - as many as 70% worked exclusively from home in May of 2020.įast forward to February 2022. 59% prefer hybrid work arrangements going forward.īefore the pandemic, very few remote-capable employees worked exclusively from home (8%), while about one-third had a hybrid work arrangement. We refer to these workers as "remote-capable employees."Ĭurrent and Anticipated Employee Work Location for Remote-Capable Jobs. full-time workforce - representing about 60 million workers - report that their current job can be done remotely working from home, at least part of the time. Understanding where we're headed begins with reviewing how we got here and what plans exist for the future.Īpproximately half of the U.S. Where are employees working now, and where will they work in the future?

These insights paint a vivid picture of how different offices will be and the unique dynamics of a highly flexible workplace.īased on our latest insights, Gallup recommends exploring five key questions when transitioning to hybrid work: employees surveyed since the onset of the pandemic. To help organizations chart their way forward, Gallup has studied the experiences, needs and future plans of more than 140,000 U.S. And employees with the ability to work remotely are largely anticipating a hybrid office environment going forward. Ultimately, how this new hybrid era unfolds will depend on the types of hybrid experiences employers create and how managers adapt.īut one thing is clear: We're not returning to the same workplace we left.

What exactly hybrid work will look like for each organization is just beginning to take shape, and the ensuing lessons will define our work lives for years to come. And employees with the ability to work remotely are largely anticipating a hybrid office environment going forward - one that allows them to spend part of their week working remotely and part in the office. Others bristle at the idea of giving up their pajama pants and really good coffee from their kitchen.īut one thing is clear: We're not returning to the same workplace we left. As spring approaches, employees and employers once again are preparing for what their new office environment will look like.įor many employees, returning to the office means some semblance of normalcy - or at least a workplace more like the one we remember from before the pandemic. What was expected to be a mass migration back to the office in September of 2021 quickly halted as employers extended their work-from-home policies indefinitely into another miserable pandemic winter. The past year of COVID-19 variants has thrown a wrench in the return-to-office plan for many organizations.

Hybrid work must be productive and engaging, not just a policy or perk.Failing to offer flexible work arrangements is a risk for organizations.Hybrid work is the future for most offices.
