Despite Predictions, Nearly Half of US Employees Will Be Back to the Office Full-Time, Wisetail Survey Reveals

A survey by Wisetail, a leader in learning engagement and management software that builds companies into communities, has revealed that nearly half (48 percent) of US employees will be back in the office full-time, despite industry predictions. Of the 1,000 survey respondents, 86 percent reported that they haven’t started at a new company in the past 12 months, contrary to reports issued around the Great Resignation.

“The most important strategy for our businesses today is our people strategy”

For the respondents who described their work setup as hybrid, more than 75 percent stated that they preferred to be in the office three or less days per week. When asked what the greatest benefit of the hybrid setup is, over half stated that it was work/life balance. On the other hand, when asked about the greatest challenge of hybrid work, respondents were divided between the option to socialize (23 percent), commuting (22 percent), scheduling in-office time (15 percent) and facing no challenges (21 percent).

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When it comes to the hybrid workforce, communication is key. Colleagues must be able to discuss information efficiently, empowering them to be more productive and yield the best results. When asked to list preferred modes of communication between colleagues, respondents listed email as the top method (84 percent), followed by video calls (65 percent), phones (65 percent), chat apps (52 percent) and a corporate social network (20 percent). Furthermore, when asked what makes them feel the most connected to their colleagues, employees responded with video calls (52 percent), in-person socials (33 percent), chat apps (32 percent), company all-hands meetings (14 percent) and a corporate social network (9 percent).

A quality onboarding and training process can make the difference between employees feeling confident and ready to tackle their jobs head on or feeling ill-prepared and unsettled. The employees who described their work setup as hybrid and also started a new job in the past 12 months revealed some interesting statistics around their onboarding experience. When asked about their favorite part of their training, 41 percent stated that it was their supportive, helpful coworkers, while 48 percent stated it was the training process itself including sessions, training software and gamification. This point was further amplified when workers revealed that the area that needed the most improvement in the training process was inadequate training software and lack of gamification (41 percent).

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“The most important strategy for our businesses today is our people strategy,” said Ali Knapp, president, Wisetail. “Creating a people-centric culture goes beyond onboarding and position-based training. It’s about creating a community of continuous learning, supporting the whole employee and giving people the tools they need to thrive. This is evident by the nearly 55 percent of survey respondents that indicated a people strategy with a solid training process can be the deciding factor when deciding between jobs. As a result, it’s important for employers to consider using a tool such as a learning management system (LMS) or learning experience platform (LXP) when it comes to attracting and maintaining talent.”

Wisetail, an Intertek company, is a learning and development leader with a different vision to build companies into communities. We support and strengthen every learner to ensure your brand promise is delivered to your people and the world.

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