Industry Perspectives

Our most recent survey, “The Pandemic Workplace: Impact on Career Decisions” reports the dominant preference of respondents to continue the flexibility to “work from anywhere.”

The vast majority (98%) expressed their preference for working in a hybrid (56%) or fully remote (42%) office situation. But, the survey also reveals the risks and challenges ahead as companies finalize their plans for office attendance.

Beyond the clear preference for workplace flexibility, the most important takeaway from our survey is that the impact of “work from anywhere” is yet to come.

While calling employees back to the office on a part- or full-time basis may create a near-term disruption, managers need to also consider the long-term effects of remote work on career advancement and team development.

Respondents reported deterioration in camaraderie (64%) and building critical relationships (54%), and as well as the concern that working remotely could affect their career progression in the future (44%).  Organizations that follow the “work from anywhere” path will need to be intentional in changing their practices for building and leading successful teams. Download our infographic.

Hiring managers will need to skillfully combine the benefits of remote and flexible workplace options with new ways to build a strong culture and pathways for advancement. The challenge will be real for organizations that bring their teams back into a central office full-time, but also for those that remain dispersed.

The workforce is growing with a generation of professionals who have spent their entire lives building relationships through technology. They have very different expectations about how, where, when and why work intersects with their lives. They have an unprecedented moment that offers the power to re-imagine and reshape their careers to align with what they now know they can accomplish personally and professionally in a flexible work environment.

Attracting the best of the talent pool requires organizations to re-imagine their talent development policies and practices.

Our survey provides dozens of data points, key takeaways and a checklist of best practices to help leaders adaptive their people management skills and be intentional in their team development practices. The survey insights will help you better understand the talent environment and create a plan to be more adaptive and effective in how you recruit and retain your team.

Contact us to let us know what you are experiencing and areas of interest to explore further. We’ll be happy to talk with you about navigating the challenges and opportunities ahead as you recruit, retain and build team culture in the new work-from-anywhere reality.

About the Survey

The Pandemic Workplace Survey reports the perspectives of people who typically worked with their teams in corporate office settings before the pandemic and primarily in the marketing and consumer insights professions. This is an important distinction to

note, because the survey is not intended to represent service, manufacturing or other employees who do not have the option of working from home. The recent survey of employees was conducted in October 2021, following the first survey of hiring managers in October 2020.

Survey of employees: Pandemic Workplace Survey: Impact on Career Decisions

Survey of hiring managers: Pandemic Workplace Survey: Impact on Team Culture, Recruitment and Retention