Microsoft releases findings, considerations from one year of remote work via Work Trend Index

Microsoft has made public the findings from its first annual Work Trend Index. 

Titled: “The Next Great Disruption is Hybrid Work–Are We Ready?” the report uncovers seven hybrid work trends every business leader needs to know as we enter this new era of work.

It indicates that business leaders should resist the urge to see hybrid work as business as usual. It will require the rethinking of long-held assumptions.

According to the Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, Jared Spataro: “The choices you make today will impact your organisation for years to come. It is a moment that requires clear vision and a growth mindset.

“These decisions will impact everything from how you shape culture to how you attract and retain talent to how you can better foster collaboration and innovation.”

Spataro furthers stated that:”The findings suggest that this last year has fundamentally changed the nature of work; Collaboration trends in Microsoft Teams and Outlook suggest our networks have contracted but hybrid work will revive them.

“Time spent in meetings has more than doubled globally and over 40 billion more emails were delivered in the month of February of this year compared to last. Work has become more human. Nearly 40% say they feel more comfortable bringing their full selves to work than before the pandemic and one in six have cried with a colleague this year.”

To help organisations through the transition, the 2021 Work Trend Index outlines findings from a study of more than 30,000 people in 31 countries and analyses trillions of aggregate productivity and labor signals across Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn. It also includes perspectives from experts who have studied collaboration, social capital, and space design at work for decades.

Spataro concluded that:“During this pandemic we have observed a swift acceleration of certain pre-COVID trends. But perhaps one of the most exciting trends is this rise in remote work. As opportunity is democratised with remote work and talent movement, we’ll see a spread of skills across the country and this is the time for business leaders to take the opportunity to access to different skills and talent not previously available to them.”