The Future of Work

Two years in, the experiment has yielded mixed results. Fans of remote work report higher productivity, lower stress, and more time with family, begging the question why it took a global pandemic to bring on this shift. Opponents say the blurring of work and home lives makes it difficult to disconnect, creates pressure to work longer days, and makes employees feel the constant need to be online. Feelings of social isolation, longer work hours, and added stressors stemming from blurred work and home lives have taken a major toll on individuals’ personal wellbeing as well as opportunities for creative collaboration.

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"99% of human resource leaders expect employees to work in some kind of a hybrid arrangement."

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Some employers have embraced the shift and promise to extend work-from-home policies indefinitely, while others are eager to get employees back to the office. In a recent survey, 99% of human resource leaders expect employees to work in some kind of a hybrid arrangement. Incorporating a mixture of in-office and remote work in employees’ schedules has been shown to increase both workplace productivity and employee satisfaction.

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"Nine out of ten organizations plan to combine remote and on-site work going forward."

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It is also what employees want — McKinsey’s Reimagine Work survey revealed that 52% of employees would prefer a hybrid work model post-pandemic, with 37% wishing to return to fully onsite, and just 11% hoping to continue completely remotely. Omicron may have disrupted recent return-to-work plans, but one thing remains clear: hybrid work will make up a big part of the picture going forward. In fact, nine out of ten organizations plan to combine remote and on-site work going forward.

As employers implement hybrid work model plans, the choices they make around flexibility, workplace systems, and culture will drive their organizations’ success. A major challenge emerging in return-to-work plans is employee commuting. Employees who have been working from home for nearly two years cite commuting as the #1 drawback of going back to the office.

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"Employees who have been working from home for nearly two years cite commuting as the #1 drawback of going back to the office."

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According to a LinkedIn survey of nearly 3,000 full-time workers in the U.S., about one quarter of employees have safety concerns about their commute, with an equal number saying they are much less willing to commute than they were before COVID. Employers must not discount commuting as a major factor in both employee wellbeing and the success of their return to work plans: Flexible, safe, and enjoyable commute options are absolutely critical to easing employees back into the office.

It is for that reason that we at Fleet are proud to be the trailblazer in offering flexible commuting options. As the nature of work continues to unfold, we are here to help you seamlessly and dynamically change with it. To learn more about Fleet and view more research like this, follow us on LinkedIn.