The majority of people who work in hybrid environments have been found to be "more productive and innovative" according to the latest research from Massey University.
In the most recent snapshot from December 2023, the study found the number of people doing hybrid work had increased to 41.7%, up from 28.4% in June 2023 and 32.3% in December 2022.
Massey University researcher Jarrod Harr said he "wasn't surprised" by the findings and that overall the majority of those who work in hybrid environments are more innovative and productive.
"A lot of it has to do with two things. One is the trust that you get when your employer lets you work from home, so you put in a bit of extra effort," he said. "But for things like innovation you just get that time to decompress away from your coworkers, and the colleagues and perhaps a pressing deadline so I think we're seeing some gains there."
"If anything, it looks like the New Zealand workforce is engaging in more hybrid work than ever before," he said.
Harr said it all comes down to trust, as managers set the tone of what is expected in hybrid work models.
"It's actually quite simple. As a leader, as a direct manager, it's your job to outline your expectations. If they're being met you should be happy and if they're being exceeded you should think 'gee whiz I'm onto something here'."
Haar’s wellbeing@work study surveyed between 1000 and 1135 New Zealand representative workers across six different months between November 2021 and December 2023.
Harr said there were "slightly more" working professionals in the survey as these professions are more likely to be able to work from home or be flexible rather than those who must be "on the shop floor".
"It's been the same kind of sample across seven different waves of data, and we are finding this consistency in the data that hybrid work is beneficial, so if it ain't broke," he laughed.
"Perhaps working from home or at least the hybrid work, working a few days at home, is a good thing."
Harr said companies can track progress of employees regardless of whether they're in the office or not as the data can be followed, which makes it cheaper to have them work from anywhere.
"[In the United States] there is this kind of, return to office mandates, and a lot of these employees don't like that and they want to quit and go somewhere else."
Harr said New Zealand employers are "far more trusting and smart".
"I think [in] New Zealand, most of those employers out there are on to something."
He said the labour market is changing and companies that don't offer employees flexible working options are struggling to retain talented workers.
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