Transcript 0:00 The way we work has changed. 0:02 There is no going back, and we can see from this particular report, employees have a worth it equation, and I find that wonderful to understand, and leaders will need to create a culture that is flexible and prioritizes well-being. 0:20 [on-hold music] Welcome to The Peggy Smedley Show, your voice for our connected world, with your host, Peggy Smedley. 0:38 Hello, listeners, and welcome to today's edition of The Peggy Smedley Show. As always, I'm your host, Peggy Smedley. This month on the show, we've been talking all about manufacturing. 0:49 So for today, I want to narrow in on hybrid work and how that is changing all of our businesses all around the globe. 0:59 And on this show, since a new report is out, Making Hybrid Work Work, I will narrow in on some challenges and solutions for this new way of business. 1:11 So to be honest, changes with the workforce were well underway even before COVID-19 made remote work common practice. 1:20 The pandemic certainly made the possibilities more evident to workers, but it also did more than create an experience of remote work. 1:31 Employees everywhere are now rethinking their worth equation, which is very interesting. 1:38 So I will explain what that means on this first segment and how the result is, is affecting companies and what they'll need to meet employees and employers where they are. 1:53 This is exactly what is this new report is, uh, showing us and how important this actually is going to be. 2:00 So for the first several minutes, I'll be taking kind of a deep look at what this report means and how the workforce is changing. But before we get to that, let me tell you about my guests for today. 2:14 I'll be talking to Don James, Director of Global IoT Industry Strategy in Energy and Environmental Science at Microsoft. And then I'm going to wrap up the show with Vinnie Quinn, Co-founder and Director of Evercam. 2:30 And so, as always, I hope you'll stick around because I think we have a great show. So let's get started. Earlier in March, Microsoft released the twenty twenty-two Work Trend Index Annual Report. 2:42 Now, the index outlines findings from a study of thirty-one thousand people in thirty-one countries, along with an analysis of trillions of productivity signals in Microsoft 365, as well as labor trends on LinkedIn. 3:02 Now let's discuss what was found. There were five big findings in this report. The first, and perhaps most impactful, is that employees now have a new worth it equation. Yep, you heard me, a worth it equation. 3:21 Roughly fifty-three percent of employees are more likely to prioritize health and well-being over work than before the pandemic. Now, I find this very interesting to how things actually changed before the pandemic. 3:39 Also, fifty-two percent of Gen Z and millennials are likely to consider changing employers this year, which is up three percent year over year. Now, here's what I found really interesting. 3:56 The top five reasons employees quit their jobs. They just jump ship. First is well-being or mental health. Next is work-life balance. 4:07 Now, you hear this, you know, employees feeling overstressed or whatever, now they want that work-life balance, and I don't know that that's shocking for anyone. 4:15 We also have this risk of getting COVID-19 on the list, which I find very intriguing because people are concerned about it, so that's a new one. But next is a lack of confidence in senior management and leadership. 4:32 Now, we've always heard before, if you don't like your managers, you're out of there, right? You just say, you know, "I'm, I'm, I'm running for the hills." But finally, a lack of flexible work hours or locations. 4:44 This is particularly true for the younger generations. So in fact, the report finds for Gen Z, three i-- three is no longer go, going back. You know? 4:57 There, there's no longer, I guess, that I'm just gonna go back because of it. It's, it's over. So these younger workers want flexibility, mobility, and entrepreneurial freedom. 5:13 So when they're at home, you know, there's... They can do what they want. There's no negotiations here. You know? It's, it's not negotiable. So very intriguing there, if you think about it. 5:26 The second big takeaway from this report is managers feel wedged between leadership and employee expectations. 5:36 Now, not surprising to me because, in fact, the numbers show seventy-four percent of managers say they don't have the influence or resources to make change for employees. So we've heard this before. 5:51 Management says one thing, so employees want another, and, you know, you're kind of like the ping pong ball in the middle of that match. 5:57 So another fifty-four percent of managers say leadershipIs out of touch with employees. You know, management just says, you know, executives, the CEOs, whoever, say, "Do this, do that." 6:10 Or maybe it's the middle managers above the CEOs want something, and it's the middle managers are, like, going, "Well, here's how we gotta do things." 6:18 So managers are certainly at a critical bridge between employee expectations and leadership priorities, so they need to be equipped with the right resources, I think, and training in order to kinda manage this transition that is happening here, you know, that needs to happen. 6:39 So when you think about it, this report suggests leaders need to decentralize decision-making and need to empower managers to make change happen on behalf of their employees' individual needs. 6:54 So I find that really important that managers need to be able to make the right decisions. 7:00 Now, there's some problems that can happen here, but Microsoft even has a template to kinda create a team agreement for hybrid work. Now, [chuckles] I found that really interesting. You got these agreements now. 7:14 So I, I, I really find that intriguing. So let's move on to number three: leaders need to make the office worth the commute. Now, I find this so interesting now. 7:28 So this one suggests workplaces need to be designed to support employees. Now, wasn't it designed when you were a software program? You made it really fun and you, you enticed them to, to... 7:41 'cause they were working these crazy hours. So this can include quiet spaces now, collaboration areas, and whatever else is needed. 7:49 So I feel like we're making the entire office accommodate everyone, not just the programmers now. So it's kind of a little different. Not the noisy places, but places so people can collaborate. 8:01 The workplace of the future needs to keep everyone connected and engaged the way they can work. So but the physical space is only one way leaders need to make the office worth the commute. 8:17 So this is very im-important here. So the data suggests companies are making progress on investments kind of in space and technology, but there's more work to be done on culture. 8:31 But going back to the space, it's also kinda like we said, the cities of the future. So these workspaces are also having to be designed, but so is the culture. 8:41 So for many leaders and employees, there's still a bit of confusion on what the hybrid work actually is, and that's the same thing. 8:51 Cities are struggling to understand what the commuting environment's gonna look like, what those cities are gonna look like, what the healthcare communities, you know, childcare, all of these things. 9:02 So roughly thirty-eight percent of hybrid employees say their biggest challenge is knowing when and why to come into the office. Is it safe? 9:13 So only twenty-eight percent of leaders have created team agreements for hybrid work to define why and when to go into the office. 9:26 So we're back to that agreement, and I kind of find that kind of shocking in some ways because how do you draft agreements? 9:34 So you have work agreements, but now you're drafting kind of a work agreements for when you come into the office. So the report recommends that leaders establish the why, when, and how of the office. 9:50 So it's kinda like office behavior, but really, how do you come into the office? 9:54 So it's kinda like how I draft an article, but this means defining the purpose of in-person c- person collaboration, creating those team agreements, defining hybrid meeting etiquette, and rethinking how space can play a support role. 10:12 So again, the loudmouth guy or gal is, is gonna have to show some etiquette so everybody has a place to speak out, which seriously, I think this is, is important, but at the same time, it's kinda crazy. 10:26 But it's really changing, and I, I kinda wonder what's gonna happen. You know? I, I'm not gonna say it's gonna work. 10:34 I'm not gonna say it's not gonna work, but I, I, I'm kinda curious, but I, I'm, I'm saying companies need to hire me because I wanna sit in on some of this stuff and evaluate and really write about what's happening because I think we're, we're running in lots of directions here, but I wanna really, I wanna really assess a lot of this. 10:54 I mean, we're, we're saying this, but I wanna know how we're doing this. So [smacks lips] 10:59 someone needs to hire me so I can sit in and really evaluate is this really working or, or we're just doing something short term, and then we're gonna take it away. So the fourth takeaway from this report is 11:11 flexible work doesn't have to mean always on.Which is very interesting as well. Consider these sta-statistics for Microsoft as well. 11:21 There has been a two hundred and fifty-two percent increase in weekly time spent in meetings, and I can totally get that because I'm in meetings all the time, for the average team since users, kinda since, uh, you know, February of 2020. 11:37 Yikes. I have to tell you, I'm in meetings all the time with companies now where we're doing it, and I have to tell you, my writing time has just gone crazy. 11:45 So there's also been a thirty-two percent increase in chats since, uh, you know, sent per person since March of 2020, and I'm looking at the numbers here right now. 11:56 And generally speaking, meetings, chats, workdays span, and, and after-hours and weekend work have all risen in the past two years. 12:07 Now I, uh, like I can attest, I work all different hours, but now if people aren't used to that, it's overwhelming, and I can, I can understand what Microsoft's report is saying here. 12:17 So the report suggests we're having too many meetings, and we're seeing energy and focus wane due to these back-to-back meetings, and it does. It gets ex-- very exhausting. 12:29 So companies need to create new norms around flexible work, and they need to reduce meetings and empower employees a little bit more. 12:38 And Microsoft suggests this needs to be a team-led movement to establish more sustainable hybrid work practices, and, and I have to agree. I, I, I kinda can understand that. 12:49 So finally, the last takeaway is that rebuilding social capital looks different in a hybrid world. 12:58 So roughly forty-three percent of leaders say relationship building is the greatest challenge in remote and hybrid work, and we're facing an uphill battle here, and we need to build social capital. 13:13 Employees who have, uh, thriving relationships at work report better wellbeing, which if you remember, poor wellbeing is one of the top reasons workers quit today. So we need to prioritize this. 13:27 We need to continue to build that. 13:29 And the report suggests managers will play a key role in fostering close team bonds, and they will be critical to helping employees prioritize relationships, and they will need to support newly onboarding employees as well. 13:46 And that's so very critical, to make that new employee feel important with those existing employees. And we see that a lot in, uh, many, many jobs, which are the most at risk of being left behind. 13:58 So there's so much here that you-- has to be, as I always say, unpacked, but you have to really think about those that are existing versus the new ones you're onboarding. So okay, so here's my opinion for today. 14:10 The way we work has changed. There is no going back, and we can see from this particular report employees have a worth it equation, and I find that r- uh, wonderful to, to understand. 14:24 And leaders will need to create a culture that is flexible and prioritizes wellbeing. 14:30 Businesses need to have a culture-first approach, and I think let's not get lost in what the worth it equation means, but understand for everyone, the, the managers, the employees, everybody. So here's my tip. 14:44 We need to change our mindsets. This is easier said than done, and we all get that, and this is something that needs to happen from the top down, as always. We need to lead from the top. 14:55 And here's what I predict is going to happen next: the companies that get it, you know, this will shift. 15:03 And I mean that companies that really realize what is happening here, they're going to be the ones that come out on top, that succeed, that get the best employees. 15:13 They're going to be the ones that prioritize the workers, you know, the existing workers, the new workers, while also implementing the best technology. 15:22 They are going to be the ones that figure out how to make man work alongside of machine in a way that's effective. 15:30 Men such as IBM economist Joseph Frumkin said that automation will eventually bring about a 20-hour workweek. Perhaps it's time to bring some of that prophecy to light, and we've been hearing that. 15:46 The companies that can figure this out are going to have a leg up on the competition. All right. 15:53 As always, if you have thoughts on what I've talked about today, please send me a tweet to continue this discussion on social media at Connected World. 16:01 All right, listeners, that's all the time we have for this first segment, but check out our website at connectedworld.com and our show website at thepeggySmedleyShow.com. All right, don't go away. 16:12 We're gonna take a quick commercial break. This is The Peggy Smedley Show, your voice for our connected world. And remember, with great technology comes great responsibility. 16:20 We'll be right back after this commercial break. [upbeat music]
