A new study by Microsoft has revealed the three key pivots leaders must make to successfully adapt to the new way we work. They include ending productivity paranoia, embracing the fact that people come into physical offices to be together, and "re-recruiting" employees.

"People are working more than ever, while leaders—already worried by signals of macroeconomic decline—are questioning if their employees are being productive," Microsoft analysts write in a report breaking down its recent survey of 20,000 people across 11 countries. The study analyzed trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, LinkedIn labor trends and Glint People Science findings.

Helping employees focus on what's important

Eighty-seven percent of employees reported that they are productive at work, and Microsoft says productivity signals across its Microsoft 365 continue to climb. The number of meetings per week increased by 153% globally for the average Microsoft Teams user from the start of the pandemic to the spring of this year — and "there is still no indication that this trend has reversed, suggesting this peak could become the new baseline," the report notes.  And overlapping or double-booked meetings increased by 46% per person over the last year.