The Hybrid Employee Experience Offers the Options Today’s Talent Seeks

It’s official: flexibility is the new gold standard for acquiring and retaining talent. Though COVID-19 fueled the evolutionary leap toward remote and hybrid policy, in reality, job-seekers have been moving employers toward this destiny for over a decade. The pandemic merely moved up the timeline.

Take for example Flexjobs’ Annual Survey, which in 2019 reported that half of respondents had negotiated for flexible work with their current employer. The 2020 study reported that 96% of respondents expressed a strong desire for fully-remote or hybrid work; a quarter of job-seekers said they’d even take a significant pay-cut to make it happen. Those two statistics alone paint a vivid picture of the new world of work.

Health considerations aside, several factors have driven the rising demand for remote and hybrid work. 

A Desire for Job Satisfaction

Employees have realized that where and how we work greatly impacts our employee experience. This is reflected in the quality of both in-office time (for instance, activity based work amenities) and remote. While remote work has many advantages, we still desire a balance between the benefits of the office and the convenience of working remotely. What brings employees in?

Collaboration - While technology can bridge the hybrid work divide, sometimes it just helps to get together for planning sessions. 

Education - Employees benefit from the organic mentorship and on-the-job learning opportunities that the office provides.

Community - The office is not just a space to work. Positive in-office experience fosters team-building, shared culture, and casual companionship that greatly improves employee experience. 

Greater Work-Life Balance

Despite the challenges of working remotely during the pandemic, the ability to balance competing priorities has made retaining this flexibility highly desirable. With the success of the remote work model proved out, employees feel more confident in seeking work where and how it fits their life..  

Flexibility allows employees to show up in important facets of life— as parents, partners, and caregivers—more responsively. When companies support this flexibility, it signals to candidates that their future employer understands and respects the importance of this balance.

Access to Opportunity

The era of remote and distributed work has thrown wide the doors of opportunity, creating new access to high-quality jobs worldwide. While remote work has widened the talent pool for employers as well, it’s made hiring more competitive and raised the bar on flex offerings.

Presented with a new world of choice, candidates are seeking roles with hybrid policy and benefits that fully consider their needs and desires. To acquire and retain top talent, companies should go beyond simply endorsing flexible policies;  they can showcase robust technical tools and remote benefits that help staff work seamlessly and enjoy work-life harmony. Employees will respond in turn with loyalty and career longevity. 

Getting hybrid policy “right” positions companies as desirable and competitive options for job-seekers.

Create your New Hybrid Office

Ready to implement a remote-first or hybrid work policy? We have resources and a Flexible Work Policy Survey to get you started.