How to Measure Hybrid Productivity While Ensuring Employee Well-being

Remote work has evolved from a tech office perk to a necessity for many organisations. The COVID- 19 pandemic has permanently changed the expectations of how and where people work. Many organisations have already begun to shift to a hybrid or fully remote work model in response to these changes.

Adopting this new model has several advantages, including flexible work hours and a lack of commute. However, remote work has its challenges. A Buffer survey of remote workers found that loneliness is a common challenge experienced by remote workers. Another reported downside was the struggle to establish a healthy work-life balance, or ‘unplug’ at the end of the workday. And according to a Slack report, both experience and new remote workers are affected by a sense of isolation at work.

Organisations have focused wellness efforts on meditation and mental health to address these remote work challenges. Mindfulness applications like Headspace have seen a steady increase in corporate customers in recent years.

For prospective hires, professional development and coaching are both in the top 2 of benefits employees look for when choosing where to work. This is an indication that “today’s employees are looking for an employer who values their growth and development as well as their personal wellbeing”.

For organisations seeking to address the specific challenges faced by their remote workforce, data will continue to be a key asset. But changes in working patterns will change the way that it is accessed and used to create business value. Data therefore needs to be accessible from anywhere and in real-time. 85% of participants in Cisco’s survey of global organisations stated that cybersecurity is more important now than before the pandemic. Awareness around online privacy continues to grow, and data protection legislation has come into effect in countries across the globe. As such, cybersecurity, privacy and compliance and cloud-based access to data all become critical issues for remote teams working in a remote/hybrid environment.

Technology that both measures key factors affecting employees’ wellbeing and provides recommendations to help workers build better habits can be invaluable. Applications like Viva Insights, part of Microsoft’s new employee experience platform, can help leaders support remote workers and increase efficiency and flexibility throughout the organisation. Companies that adopt these technologies can remain on the cutting edge and take full advantage of all the benefits of remote and hybrid work.