Unravelling the Work Paradox: Microsoft's Deep Dive into Hybrid Productivity
Unravelling the Work Paradox: Microsoft's Deep Dive into Hybrid Productivity
Written by: Paula Antalffy 4-5 minute read
Navigating the Productivity Landscape in the Hybrid Work Era
As hybrid work continues to become the ‘new norm’, varying perspectives among employees and leaders around what the future of work looks like, is creating significant challenges.
Microsoft's recently published extensive study delves into the intricacies of the complex world of hybrid working. Their survey, which involved over 20,000 participants across 11 countries, shares insights into the productivity paradox and the urgent pivots leaders must make to ensure sustainable and successful hybrid work environments.
The outcome? A roadmap for leaders, pointing towards three urgent pivots to drive alignment and empower individuals for the evolving nature of work.
In this blog, we delve into the key findings from the study, sharing some key takeaways about the future of hybrid working.
The Dual Realities of Hybrid Work: Setting the Scene
In the evolving landscape of hybrid work, disagreements have emerged between employees and leaders about the future of the workplace. While employees support the new found flexibility remote work offers, leaders are increasingly pushing for a return to the office.
The most poignant recent example of this is tech giants such as Zoom and Twitter (now X) demanding a full-time return to the office from their workers.
These opposing desires set the stage from examining how organisations can bridge the gap between productivity and employee well-being.
Leaders are also facing a wider set of challenges, from rising inflation, to shrinking budgets and an increasingly competitive hiring market. The pressure to find the right balance, keeping both board and team members happy is proving to be more difficult than anticipated.
Pivot 1: A closer look productivity paranoia
End Productivity Paranoia
The first urgent pivot identified in the study revolves around dispelling productivity paranoia.
While employees report high levels of productivity (87%), leaders are more sceptical, with just only 12% of leaders express full confidence in their team's productivity.
The study uncovers alarming trends, including a 153% increase in weekly meetings since the start of the pandemic and a 46% rise in overlapping meetings per person. This increased digital workload can potentially harm productivity, with employees increasingly multitasking during meetings to attempt to stay on track with their usual workload.
Clarity is Key
The spectre of productivity paranoia poses a threat to the sustainability of hybrid work. To tackle this, Microsoft suggests that leaders must shift from anxiously monitoring their team's activity levels to guiding them in prioritising the most crucial tasks.
A staggering 81% of employees emphasise the importance of their managers assisting them in workload prioritisation. However, a mere 31% report receiving clear guidance during one-on-one sessions with their managers.
With 48% of employees and 53% of managers already reporting burnout, finding this clarity as soon as possible in day-to-day workload is crucial.
The need for prioritisation extends beyond rearranging to-do lists.
Closing the Feedback Loop
Leaders grappling with this productivity paradox must shift their focus from tracking activity to fostering clarity. The study reveals that employees with clear work priorities are almost four times more likely to stay at their current company for at least two years.
Microsoft’s study reveals that just 43% of employees report that their company actively seeks employee feedback at least once a year. This implies that more than half of companies (57%) rarely, if ever, ask about or acknowledge their employees' experiences at work. Even in cases where feedback is collected, a substantial 75% of employees (along with 80% of managers) believe this process takes place too rarely.
Having a great feedback process directly affects employee retention. Microsoft’s survey reveals that employees who believe their companies don't implement changes based on feedback are over twice as likely to contemplate leaving within the next year (16% versus 7%) compared to their counterparts who perceive a commitment to change.
Therefore, to retain talent and foster satisfaction, organisations must establish a continuous feedback loop. This includes getting regular insights from employees at every level of the organisation, as well as actively incorporating employees within the decision making process to build trust and engagement.
This will not only help connect and empower teams as a whole, but also strengthens the relationship between leaders and their teams.
Implementing better feedback: What does the process look like?
Microsoft outlines 3 key ways in which businesses can begin tackling the challenges of task management and feedback loops within a hybrid workspace.
These are:
Strategic Goal Setting: Implement objectives like OKRs to align employee tasks with overarching company goals. Additionally, define NO-KRs, outlining tasks that should be avoided to prioritise critical work.
Impact-Driven Culture: Foster a culture that values and rewards the impact of employees rather than mere activity. This approach prevents the risk of employees engaging in performative actions without substantial contributions.
Continuous Feedback Loop: Regularly gather feedback at various organisational levels—company-wide, departmental, and team-specific. This practice ensures a constant understanding of employee sentiments, empowering managers and leaders to actively listen, coach, and make informed decisions to enhance overall team performance and well-being.
Implementing Better Feedback: myday's Role
As organisations grapple with the productivity paradox, myday emerges as an innovative solution to the challenges highlighted in Microsoft's study.
myday: Bridging the Gap
Integrated Social Features: myday encourages employees to prioritise well-being and build internal and external support networks, crucial in navigating the challenges of hybrid work.
Concrete Metrics: Employers gain valuable insights into employee well-being, making direct measurement easier and guiding informed decisions for a balanced work environment.
Global Impact Initiatives: myday rewards employees dedicated to well-being and team community with verified global impact projects, aligning businesses with human sustainability goals.
In the dynamic realm of hybrid work, where balancing remote and in-office activities poses unique challenges, myday emerges as a potent solution for businesses committed to creating a culture of feedback, well-being, and effective productivity.
As workplaces evolve to accommodate hybrid models with new, intentionally-designed processes, myday eases navigating this transition seamlessly. The app goes beyond being a conventional tool, offering resources to help team members navigate work-life balance more effectively.
To learn more about the myday app and how it can help supercharge your hybrid working strategy - book a call with our team today!
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