Hot off the presses -- Owl Labs’ most recent pulse survey is out and it’s revealing some surprising insights into remote, in-office and hybrid work trends. We surveyed more than 2,300 full-time employees across the United States to gauge how workers are feeling about remote and hybrid work, productivity, coworking spaces, and work / life balance.
“Throughout the past two years, many employers and workers have adopted and employed a hybrid work model, however, hybrid work has continued to evolve and new issues and concerns will surface as the world changes,” said Frank Weishaupt, CEO of Owl Labs. “When it comes to work environments, there’s no one-size-fits-all option that satisfies all employees, which is why hybrid work is the future, and this may look very different from company to company.”
Hybrid work is the future because there’s no one-size-fits-all option for work location that satisfies all employees. Owl Labs’ survey found that giving people the freedom to choose their locations based on their schedules and tasks can increase productivity. According to the data, the best types of work for remote locations include:
Impacted by inflation and gas prices, it costs employees more money to go to the office than work remotely – but they may not realize it. Nearly 1 in 3 (28%) think they should be paid more to work remotely, but employees spend twice as much money working at the office ($863 per month) compared to working remotely ($432 per month). Interestingly, only 14% of workers said they should be paid more for office work, and more than half (57%) said they should be paid the same regardless of where they work.
The top costs for in-office workers include: commuting ($15.11 per day), lunch ($14.25 per day), and breakfast / coffee ($8.46 per day). Additionally, workers who need pet care, such as dog walking, spend an average of $16.39 a day on it. Companies that want to bring workers back to the office this fall might try providing a stipend, free lunch, and pre-tax commuter benefits to help offset costs, as well as allowing pets in the office to reduce pet care costs.
As more employees are now setting boundaries and “quiet quitting” to improve their work-life balance, it’s more important than ever for employers to offer remote and hybrid work options to reduce employee burnout and increase retention and morale. The majority of workers (58%) believe remote work is the best work style for optimizing work-life balance, while 26% think working in the office is best and 14% prefer coworking spaces.
To learn more about Owl Labs and its ecosystem of video conferencing solutions to help hybrid organizations stay better connected, visit https://owllabs.com/products/meeting-owl-3.