Dive Brief:
- HR and company leadership may not be on the same page regarding company culture, according to Mercer’s 2022 Global Talent Trends Study, released April 20. While nearly all HR leaders surveyed (90%) say there’s more work to be done in building a trusting culture at their companies, only 30% of executives surveyed said they “see the ROI of building a healthy, resilient and equitable future of work.”
- That disconnect extends to the future of workplace design. Nearly three-fourths of workers surveyed said they believed remote or hybrid work would make their organization more successful, but 72% of executives said they’re worried about the impact of remote work on company culture.
- Notably, execs believe gig workers will “substantially” replace employees in the next three years — but fewer than 6 in 10 workers are open to a gig work setup, Mercer said.
Dive Insight:
The debate over hybrid work’s place in the post-pandemic era seems unlikely to end anytime soon.
Concerns exist regarding how remote and hybrid work have been implemented, various studies have shown. Generation Z workers, for example, are more likely to feel stifled by a lack of on-site work, partly due to a perceived lack of learning opportunities offered by remote positions. The Mercer report touches on this, as well; 75% of execs surveyed said their companies have an apprenticeship-like culture where people learn “side-by-side.”
Hybrid work has also created a new dilemma for HR and team leaders: new working hours. A Microsoft study recently found that workers more commonly have three peak working times, including one in the hours before bedtime. Reasons for this “triple peak day” may vary, and some workers may choose it purposefully to accommodate child care or other caregiving obligations. But others could easily feel pressured into working longer hours due to perceived expectations, experts told HR Dive.
Employers also may need to exercise caution in the execution of hybrid work plans. One engagement study from October 2021 said workers called hybrid the most “emotionally exhausting” work format.
“The future of work will succeed only if everyone feels they are getting a fair deal and benefiting from an equitable relationship between employer and individual regardless of employment status and the type of work they do,” Kate Bravery, report author and global leader of advisory solutions and insights at Mercer, said in a statement.