Months into hybrid work, 85% of employers doubt their employees' productivity

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.

The data also showed that declines and tentative RSVPs have ticketed up by 84% and 216%, respectively. And “the strain is clear: in an average week, 42% of participants multitask during meetings by actively sending an email or ping—and that doesn’t include practices like reading incoming emails and pings, working in non-meeting files, or web activity,” the report notes.

Yet a disconnect appears to exist between these overly scheduled employees and the managers who oversee them: a staggering 85% of leaders surveyed said they aren’t certain their people are actually being productive during the workday. The survey cautioned that using technology to track activity rather than impact can “undermine trust and lead to productivity theater.’

“This has led to productivity paranoia: where leaders fear that lost productivity is due to employees not working, even though hours worked, number of meetings, and other activity metrics have increased,” the report states. “Productivity paranoia risks making hybrid work unsustainable. Leaders need to pivot from worrying about whether their people are working enough to helping them focus on the work that’s most important. 81% of employees say it’s important that their managers help them prioritize their workload, but less than a third (31%) say their managers have ever given clear guidance during one-on-ones. Solving this issue needs to start at the top: 74% of people managers say more guidance on prioritizing their own work would help their performance, and 80% say they’d personally benefit from more clarity from senior leadership on impactful priorities.”

The report also notes that just 43% of employees can confidently say their company solicits employee feedback at least once a year—”meaning over half of companies (57%) may rarely, if ever, ask and hear about their employees’ experience at work.”

Physical office spaces are now collaboration 

The report urges employers to “rebuild social capital” by using in-person time in the physical office to build team bonds. Failing to do so, it says, could mean losing out on attracting and retaining top talent. What’s more, 73% of employees and 78% of business decision makers say they need a better reason to go in than just company expectations.

To the contrary, 84% of employees would be lured to the office to socialize with co-workers, while 85% would be motivated by rebuilding team bonds. Employees also said they would go to the office more frequently if they knew their direct team members would be there (73%) or if their work friends were there (74%).

Employers urged to ‘re-recruit’ existing employees as talent war rages on

“Amid macroeconomic headwinds, now is the time for every organization to re-recruit, re-onboard, and re-energize employees. And the data shows if people can’t learn and grow, they’ll leave,” the report says.

Two out of three employees say they would stay longer at their company if it were easier to change jobs internally (68% overall, 73% among Gen Z, 73% among Millennials, and 65% among Gen X). The number is 3 in 4 for people managers (75%) and business decision makers (77%). And 68% of employees and 77% of business decision makers say they would rather make a lateral move to learn new skills than a vertical move that is more senior but has fewer learning and growth opportunities.

“The connection between learning and retention is clear: 76% of employees say they’d stay at their company longer if they could benefit more from learning and development support. The numbers rise even higher for business decision makers (+7),” the report states. “In fact, employees consider opportunities to learn and grow as the #1 driver of great work culture, a jump from 2019 when it was ranked #9. So taken as a whole, prioritizing employee learning and growth presents a winning retention formula for organizations—or, alternately, if neglected, could pose an existential threat.”