2 Show me the Money 17% of workers surveyed stated that they would expect a pay increase if they could no longer work in a hybrid or remote setting. Those respondents also went on to state that if they lost their hybrid work privileges 28% would look for another job that offered flexibility over where they work and, and 18.7% stated they would look for a job that offered more flexibility over when they work. Whilst we are on the subject of money and expenditures, respondents felt that £34 was the average cost a hybrid worker spent daily in the office, and £26 was the daily savings a hybrid worker made when working at home. How did the respondents arrive at £34 you may ask: well, it was on average £12 for the commute, £5 for the parking, £7 for breakfast and coffee and £10 for lunch. There are always two sides to this age- old story of salary and salary sacrifices. The employer might argue that by allowing the employee to work in a hybrid scheme, they have already had a salary increase of £26/day, however the employee might feel that rising costs have offset those benefits, and certainly with a large percentage of the workforce – 47% – prepared to withdraw their skills for more flexible working arrangements HR Managers are in a conundrum. Bottom line? By and large, and every company is different, talented and skilled workers are attracted to hybrid and flexible working conditions, and if employers cannot or will not offer such conditions then expect to pay your employees more to attract them back into the office. 3 Outdated technology is Out Hybrid meetings using outdated technology are causing major frustrations in the workplace. The report gives a detailed breakdown of these frustrations, but criticisms ranged from employees feeling left out and disengaged, missing visual clues and losing time due to technical difficulties. So c’mon IT managers and budget holders, invest in some updated and really good quality UC&C tools to keep your workforce productivity and happiness at optimum levels. 4 That’s just the way it is – not! Workers have begun to question the concept of “the way it’s always been” and haven’t been afraid to share these sentiments. Many employees (66%) believe their employer is requiring them to work from the office because
Meet the Meeting Owl 4+: The Meeting Owl® 4+ is the latest generation of the first WiFi-enabled, 360-degree camera, microphone and speaker that automatically zooms in on whoever’s speaking
that is “how it’s always been done”, up from 52% in 2023. Resisting hustle culture is another shifting attitude, with nearly 1 in 5 workers (19%) instilling greater boundaries
by not taking on work outside of their specific job descriptions and about 20% won’t answer company communications outside of work hours.
Wise words from Frank The Owl Labs report is packed full of
insights and worth a thorough read as it is an exceptionally good reflection of working habits and trends, and changing attitudes. UC Advanced were in the privileged position to ask Owl Labs’ CEO, Frank Weishaupt, some questions: How important is communication technology in creating an effective home working environment and how can this technology help to overcome the challenges home workers face? Frank stated: “Given that over half (51%) of UK employees now work in a hybrid setting – up 5% from 2023 – collaborative technology that effectively facilitates communication, asynchronous working, creativity and work- flow in a hybrid team is an absolute must for any company that wants to create a productive work environment. This means not only having a robust tech stack in the office, but ensuring employees have the correct setup at home that is intuitive and easy-to-use to fully take part in day-to-day company life, regardless of their location. A particular challenge faced by home workers that can be supported through technology is that of meetings. Meeting pain points range from technical difficulties to missing parts of conversations, either auditory or visually. Inefficient tech that’s not set up effectively for hybrid meetings can waste valuable amounts of time and cause unnecessary frustrations. About 3 out of 4 of workers (75%) said they’ve
Inefficient tech that’s not set up effectively for hybrid
meetings can waste valuable amounts of time and cause unnecessary frustrations.
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