Cisco’s new Hybrid Work study explores how the reality of the in-office experience compares to employee expectations across the world, presenting survey findings from 14,050 employees and 3,800 employers in 19 countries.
The report details how, although employees are positive about the return to the office, they find that the spaces are too focused on individual work rather than environments that foster collaboration and creativity.
Further, as hybrid models are adopted more and more, employers and employees alike are recognising the need for office spaces that encourage collaboration and innovation.
Key findings include:
- Although 72 per cent of employees are positive about returning to the office, only 47 per cent believe their work environments are equipped for this new era of hybrid work.
- Thirty-four per cent of surveyed employers are still allocating more than 75 per cent of their office space exclusively to personal working spaces, creating individual working environments and encouraging individual working habits.
- Technology infrastructure and integration are major areas of concern across the globe, with ineffective meeting rooms due to inadequate audio and video technology hindering productivity and collaborative efforts.
- Among employers who find meeting rooms ineffective in boosting in-office productivity, the main reason is insufficient audio and video endpoints.
- Eighty-one per cent of employers have already or plan to redesign workspaces in the next 24 months.
- Ninety per cent of employers in the Americas, 94 per cent in Asia Pacific and 85 per cent in European countries report that collaboration-driven workspace enhancements are highly or moderately effective at attracting and retaining top talent.
- By 2025, 73 per cent will invest in AI-powered collaboration software.
- Sixty-eight per cent plan to enhance their workspaces with AI technologies.
- Eighty per cent of employers plan to invest in AI for workspaces and collaboration by the end of 2025.
- While 43 per cent of employees have access to AI technologies, less than half feel proficient in using them.
- One in four employees do not feel well prepared to use AI.
For the full report, head here.