Work-from-anywhere arrangements impact productivity, burnout and trust

Many employees who worked remotely out of necessity during the pandemic are continuing to do so out of preference. Although remote and hybrid arrangements largely have been a success for businesses, some employers remain concerned about their impact on productivity, burnout and trust.

Forrester’s Future of Work Survey 2022 looked at employees who are required to spend five days in the office weekly; those who are asked to spend from one to four days in the office; and workers with no minimum number of required days at the office. The report addressed three common questions.

Doesn’t productivity suffer under anywhere work? Employees who have meaning and purpose at work, are satisfied with their job, feel proud working for their company and are immersed in their work are more likely to be productive, the survey finds.

“Our data shows that no-minimum, hybrid and office workers generally share similar scores across each of these dimensions, indicating comparable levels of intrinsic motivation,” researchers say. “The no-minimum workers tend to score a bit lower, but the fact that hybrid workers consistently score highest stands out the most. If a hybrid policy has a direct effect on engagement, as many suspect, our data show that the combination of in-person engagement and flexible work location contributes to higher levels of engagement.”

Won’t anywhere workers suffer from burnout? Pandemic lockdowns changed organizational behavior in ways that can drive burnout. One academic study shows that after pandemic lockdowns ended, the number of meetings rose 13% and remained higher than before the pandemic. The number of attendees rose by 14%, too. Although too many meetings can drive burnout, too much isolation for remote workers also drive it because of loneliness and unmanaged extra work hours.

“Being in the office doesn’t help employees with resource-based burnout drivers,” the report finds. “Many assume that coming to the office regularly provides easy access to information and tools that allow an employee to succeed. However, office workers don’t show an advantage over other groups on such drivers.”

Will anywhere work erode trust and employee sentiment? Hybrid employees consistently have the highest organizational trust, according to the report.

“We hypothesize that these workers develop slightly better relationships in person than no-minimum workers but also enjoy a greater degree of trust in return from the organization than office employees,” researchers say. “Psychological distance ultimately matters more than physical distance. Physical distance doesn’t matter much and didn’t matter even before the pandemic.”

Read more: Work from home poses challenges, but benefits are still greater

Hybrid workers consistently scored better across all of the metrics tested. They are able to balance autonomy and flexibility with some in-person time, driving alignment and satisfaction.

“This arrangement benefits the whole organization, not just those who work in a hybrid mode,” the report concludes. “No-minimum employees almost always hold their own against office workers. Instead of fretting about anywhere work, get down to the hard work of leading change through the ongoing (and still evolving) anywhere-work revolution”