Hybrid model is here to stay: Over 70% of employers say this way of work is the future

A total of 74% of Indian employers are of the belief that a hybrid working model is here to stay and that they need to address processes and plan within it to ensure employee retention. 

This was revealed by a study titled 'Recruit, Retain and Grow', conducted by Poly, a global communications and collaboration company, to understand the current scenario around work policies, culture, and wellness.

The study analysed work policies of over 2,500 global business decision-makers, of which 102 were Indian companies. The results mentioned here are views of the Indian employers. 

A majority of the employers believe that if they don't address their hybrid work processes and plans, they will lose staff and will be unable to attract new talent.

Further, 86% of Indian employers have seen an increase in productivity since the shift to hybrid work. 

Nearly 54% of Indian companies are worried about the long-term impact on employee wellness due to the shift to hybrid work. They agree that culture and workforce wellness during hybrid working needs to be relooked. 

In addition to this, 43% of Indian organizations have experienced the effects of “The Great Resignation”, and stated that they have had higher staff turnover since the pandemic. A total of 81% of Indian organizations say the pandemic and increased home working have made fostering and retaining work culture harder than ever.

Key findings of the survey for employers:

• Povide equality of work experience to all employees - Whether employees are working from home or the office, they need to have the right tools and technology to work effectively from anywhere (office cubicle or dining room). 
• Re-evaluate workspaces  - Evolution comes down to how offices are perceived and used. This means re-evaluating how these physical spaces are used in a hybrid arrangement in the future and how spaces will be used to ensure they deploy the right audio and video solutions. 
• Shift focus from office benefits to people benefits  - To ensure employee wellbeing is protected, companies should focus on creating employee-friendly policies and budgets that suit the hybrid workforce. For example, companies can introduce policies that support employees' physical and mental health and host events and groups to build stronger interpersonal connections to improve employee wellness.

The results of this study only support several other surveys conducted before, where corporate employers had said that they are ready to give their workers the preferred hybrid working model. 

A new report by industry lobby NASSCOM and Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has also found that barely 5% of tech staff are willing to return full time to workplaces.

The report, titled 'Shaping the Future of Work in India's Tech Industry’, includes a survey of the stakeholders of 75 public firms.

More than 80% of the IT firms and GCCs are most likely to adopt a hybrid work model as compared to the rest of the industry segments, the survey says.

Given a choice, nearly 70% of employees in digital fields would prefer a combination of remote and on-site work models, while 25% would opt for completely remote work. As many as 70% of tech services buyers said they are comfortable with hybrid models.