(Redmond, WA, Wednesday, March 16, 2022) – Today, Microsoft published its 2022 Work Trend Index, outlining five trends to help leaders navigate the shift to hybrid work. The data, sourced from an external study of 31,000 people in 31 countries, aims to serve as a roadmap for leaders as they chart course into uncertainty. Understanding and keeping pace with new expectations is a challenge facing every leader today –and one that will be key to making hybrid work, work.

Five key trends that emerged from Microsoft’s research and key data points include:

1. Employees have a new “worth it” equation.
   • 53% of employees are more likely to prioritize health and wellbeing over work than before the pandemic.
   • 52% of Gen Z and millennials are likely to consider changing employers this year, up 3 percentage points YOY
2. Managers feel wedged between leadership and employee expectations.
   • 74% of managers say they don’t have the influences or resources to make change for employees.
   • 54% of managers say leadership is out of touch with employees.
   • Despite employees’ desire for flexibility, 50% of leaders say their company already requires, or plans to require, full in person work in the year ahead.
3. Leaders need to make the office worth the commute.
   • 38% of hybrid employees say their biggest challenge is knowing when and why to come into the office.
   • Only 28% of leaders have created team agreements for hybrid work to define why and when to go to the office.
4. Flexible work doesn’t have to mean “always on.”
   • Making flexible work sustainable requires new team norms. Time spent in meetings for the average Teams user is up 252% since February 2020.
   • Chats sent per person each week is up 32% and rising.
5. Rebuilding social capital looks different in a hybrid world.
   • 43% of leaders say relationship-building is the greatest challenge of having employees work hybrid or remote.
   • Leaders cannot rely on the physical office alone and must be intentional about modeling and encouraging teams to prioritize time for reconnection.

The past two years have made a lasting imprint on work – the impact of which will be felt long into the future.  The new “worth it” equation is not a zero sum game. Employees value flexibility and wellbeing, and these great expectations create an opportunity for every organization to reimagine work-life integration as a win-win.

To learn more about Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index, visit microsoft.com/worklab.

The Work Trend Index survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Edelman Data x Intelligence, among 31,000 full-time employed or self-employed workers across 31 markets between January 7, 2022 to February 2022.

Soundbites – Jared Spataro, Microsoft Vice President for Modern Work

• A FEW MONTHS OF REMOTE WORK COULD HAVE BEEN JUST A BLIP FOR ALL OF US, BUT TWO YEARS IN, WE’VE PROVEN THAT YOU CAN BE A GOOD EMPLOYEE ANDHAVE A GOOD LIFE. SO NOW FLEXIBILITY AND WELLBEING ARE NON-NEGOTIABLES THAT COMPANIES JUST CAN’T AFFORD TO IGNORE.
• IN OUR STUDY, FIFTY-THREE PERCENT SAID THAT THEY’RE MORE LIKELY TO PRIORITIZE THEIR HEALTH AND WELLBEING OVER WORK THAN THEY WERE BEFORE THE PANDEMIC. EMPLOYEES JUST HAVE A NEW WHAT WE CALL WORTH IT EQUATION – OR WHAT THEY ARE WILLING TO GIVE UP IN EXCHANGE FOR THEIR CAREER. AND IN THIS LABOR MARKET, THAT NEW EQUATION HOLDS GREATER WEIGHT.
• THE FINDINGS OF THIS YEAR’S REPORT SHOW AN OPPORTUNITY – AND REALLY A RESPONSIBILITY – FOR LEADERS TO APPROACH THE TRANSITION BACK TO THE OFFICE WITH GREAT INTENTION. LEADERS HAVE TO CREATE CLARITY AROUND WHEN, WHY AND HOW TEAMS COME TOGETHER IN A HYBRID WORLD. OUR RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THERE’S TENSION IN THE SYSTEM. DESPITE MANY EMPLOYEES’ DESIRE FOR FLEXIBILITY, FIFTY PERCENT OF LEADERS SAY THAT THEIR COMPANY IS PLANNING A FULL IN-PERSON RETUN TO THE OFFICE IN THE YEAR AHEAD.