Studies over the last two years show that the majority of workers around the world–up to 77%--prefer a hybrid work style, rather than returning to the office full-time. Not surprisingly, Millennials and Gen Z workers are more likely to value the flexibility of work-life balance of being able to work remotely, while those in the Gen X and Baby Boomer generations tend to place more value on the possibilities for in-person collaboration and social interaction that come along with returning to the office.
A recent episode of the If/Then podcast, produced by the Stanford Graduate School of Business, looks at the issue through the lens of creativity, and finds that both remote and in-office work have benefits to offer. It depends on the task at hand.
Jonathan Levav, a professor of marketing at Stanford Graduate School of Business who studied remote work and creativity, observed meetings among creative workers, both in-person and on Zoom, found that :
The expansiveness that comes along with face-to-face conversation was conducive to idea generation both in terms of quality and scope–co-workers who met in person generated 15-20% more ideas than those working on Zoom, whose ideas were also noticeably narrower.
When it came to decision-making tasks, however, the Zoom team won. The cognitive narrowness imposed by Zoom supports analytical thinking and focus. This may be why so many workers feel they are more productive working at home–if their work is analytical and requires focus, that’s probably the case.
In-person, remote, or hybrid? It depends on the psychological requirements of the work.
Managers who prioritize productivity can create work models for their teams that take these findings into account, scheduling in-office days for creative and collaborative work, and remote days that allow employees to do work requiring focus and analytical thought.
Seeing the issue as less of a binary, and more as a strategy for both workplace productivity and employee retention, may be the key.
Many leaders may find this a challenge–it requires those who developed their management styles in the years prior to the pandemic to reconceive how the workplace actually works, to reimagine their organizational culture, and even to develop new skillsets.
Strong differences of opinion with regard to workplace practices remain, and the jury’s still out as far as the future of hybrid work. However, with technology continuing to provide us with work and lifestyle options, the evolving expectations and demands of new generations of workers, and the rise of Gen Xers into leadership positions, experts largely agree that the future of work will continue to evolve, and each organization will have to determine the approach that works best.
Image: Chris Montgomery
