We’ve been on the cusp of the shift to hybrid work for more than a year , with false starts attributed to a pandemic that had other ideas. Now, we’re at a long-awaited inflection point: the lived experience of hybrid work. Already, hybrid work is up seven points year-over-year (to 38%), and 53% of people are likely to consider transitioning to hybrid in the year ahead. 1
One thing is clear: We’re not the same people that went home to work in early 2020. The collective experience of the past two years has left a lasting imprint, fundamentally changing how we define the role of work in our lives. The data shows the Great Reshuffle is far from over. Employees everywhere are rethinking their “worth it” equation and are voting with their feet. And as more people experience the upsides of flexible work, the more heavily it factors into the equation. For Gen Z and Millennials, there’s no going back. And with other generations not far behind, companies must meet employees where they are.
As leaders puzzle over how to make hybrid work work , big questions loom: What is the role of the office? How do teams build social capital in a digital-first world? The challenge ahead for every organization is to meet employees’ great new expectations head-on while balancing business outcomes in an unpredictable economy.
To help leaders navigate the uncertainty, the 2022 Work Trend Index outlines findings from a study of 31,000 people in 31 countries, along with an analysis of trillions of productivity signals in Microsoft 365 and labor trends on LinkedIn. While we’re all learning as we go, the findings reveal an urgent opportunity—and responsibility—for leaders to approach the transition with intention and a growth mindset, or risk being left behind.
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Great Expectations: Making Hybrid Work Work
Key Findings
Five urgent trends business leaders need to know in 2022:
Employees have a new “worth it” equation.
of employees are more likely to prioritize health and wellbeing over work than before the pandemic.
of Gen Z and Millennials are likely to consider changing employers this year, up 3 percentage points year-over-year.
The experience of the past two years has reshaped our priorities, identities, and worldview, drawing a bright line between what’s important—health, family, time, purpose—and what’s not. As a result, employees’ “worth it” equation—what people want from work and what they’re willing to give in return—has changed. The power dynamic is shifting, and perks like free food and a corner office are no longer what people value most.
In our study, 47% of respondents say they are more likely to put family and personal life over work than they were before the pandemic. In addition, 53%—particularly parents (55%) and women (56%)—say they’re more likely to prioritize their health and wellbeing over work than before.
Changing perceptions of work
And employees are acting on their newfound priorities. In 2020, 17% of people left their jobs, and we see that trend continuing—reaching 18% in 2021. The top five reasons employees quit were: personal wellbeing or mental health (24%), work-life balance (24%), risk of getting COVID-19 (21%), lack of confidence in senior management/leadership (21%), and lack of flexible work hours or location (21%). Somewhat surprisingly, “not receiving promotions or raises I deserved” landed in number seven on the list at 19%, further illustrating the shift in priorities.
Priorities have shifted
People are now more likely to prioritize their health and wellbeing over work than before the pandemic.The data also shows the Great Reshuffle is far from over. In the year ahead, many hybrid employees (51%) say they will consider a switch to remote, and even more remote employees (57%) say they’ll consider a switch to hybrid. At the same time, 43% of employees are somewhat or extremely likely to consider changing jobs in the coming year, up slightly year-over-year from 41%. Some generations are even more likely to consider changing employers—more than half (52%) of Gen Z and Millennials combined may change jobs in the year ahead, up 3 percentage points since last year. By comparison, only 35% of Gen X and Boomers say they’re considering a job change.
And the desire for flexibility extends to leadership, too—47% of leaders are likely to consider applying for jobs not near their homes in the next year.
The workforce is still in transition
Many hybrid employees are considering a switch to remote while even more remote employees are considering a switch to hybrid in the year ahead.
For Gen Z, there’s no going back
For younger employees, flexibility, mobility, and entrepreneurial freedom are non-negotiable.
58% of Gen Z are considering changing jobs in the year ahead versus 43% overall.
58% are considering a shift to hybrid work in the year head versus 53% overall.
56% are considering a shift to remote work in the year ahead versus 49% overall.
70% are considering earning additional income outside their current employer via a side project or business in the year ahead versus 59% overall.
LinkedIn data says Gen Z is the most mobile generation on the platform: since the pandemic began, their migration rate is up 23% in the U.S.
52% of Gen Z hybrid employees say they’re moving to a new location because they’re able to work remotely versus 38% overall.
Gen Z’s likelihood to engage with a company posting on LinkedIn if it mentions “flexibility” is far higher (77%) than Millennials (30%) and others on the platform.
Compared to last year, geographic migration is slowing. Today, 38% of respondents are considering moving because they can work remotely at their current job ( compared to 46% in 2021), while 30% are likely to consider a move in the year ahead even if it requires finding a new job that lets them work remotely. Gen Z and Millennials are even more willing to change jobs in order to live in a different location (44% and 38%, respectively), while just 27% of Gen X and 17% of Boomers are considering the shift.
What are employees looking for in a job now? Beyond pay, the top five aspects of work that employees view as “very important” for an employer to provide are: positive culture (46%), mental health/wellbeing benefits (42%), a sense of purpose/meaning (40%), flexible work hours (38%), and more than the standard two weeks of paid vacation time each year (36%). While new-to-the-workforce Gen Z shares the same top three priorities, they list positive feedback and recognition as their fourth priority, while ranking a manager who will help advance their career in fifth place.
“Covid has not been all doom and gloom for me. It forced me to dig deep and reevaluate what is important.”
And many employees are looking beyond their “day job” for creative opportunities. Fully 70% of Gen Z and 67% of Millennials say they are considering earning additional income via a side project or business in the next year. For leaders, this is creating new challenges—not just in attracting and retaining top talent, but in engaging current employees who increasingly define and design their careers around creative pursuits.
In all, there’s no erasing the lived experience—and lasting impact—of the past two years. A few months of remote work could have been a blip, but 24 months in, people have proved you can be a great employee and have a life. Now, flexibility and wellbeing are non-negotiables that companies can’t afford to ignore.
Key takeaway: Meeting these new employee expectations will require a mindset shift that considers the experience of the past two years. Employees’ “worth it” equation has changed—and there’s no going back. The best leaders will create a culture that embraces flexibility and prioritizes employee wellbeing—understanding that this is a competitive advantage to build a thriving organization and drive long-term growth.
Managers feel wedged between leadership and employee expectations.
of managers say they don’t have the influence or resources to make change for employees.
of managers say leadership is out of touch with employees.
The past two years have taught us that culture will stand or fall with managers. But many managers feel stuck between leadership and new employee expectations, and they feel powerless to drive change for their team. Over half of managers (54%) feel leadership at their company is out of touch with employee expectations. And 74% say they don’t have the influence or resources they need to make changes on behalf of their team.
The source of this tension is clear as business leaders seek a return to what once was; 50% of leaders 2 say their company already requires, or plans to require, full-time in-person work in the year ahead. This percentage is even higher for leaders in the manufacturing (55%), retail (54%), and consumer goods (53%) industries.
This stands in sharp contrast to the data on the importance of flexible work to employees. Over half of respondents (52%) say they are likely to consider shifting to hybrid or remote work in the year ahead. And remote and hybrid jobs are still on the rise. According to LinkedIn, in March of 2020, 1 in 67 U.S. jobs offered a remote work option. Today, that number is about 1 in 7. And remote jobs on LinkedIn attract 2.6 times more views and nearly 3 times more applicants compared to on-site roles.
Back to the office
Many leaders say their company is planning a return to the office full time within the next year, but a majority of employees prefer the flexibility of remote and hybrid work.
There’s no question technology helped preserve productivity during the pandemic, but fears about lost gains may be factoring into the pullback to in-person work. Despite 80% of employees saying they are just as or more productive since going remote or hybrid, 54% of leaders fear productivity has been negatively impacted since the shift.