Vital signs:

strengthening flexible work culture through connection, collaboration and creation

As part of the Making Work Human programme, Economist Impact, supported by Google Workspace, conducted a global survey in April and May 2023 of over 900 executives in 12 countries across Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America. The survey reveals the current state of flexible work, its main benefits and challenges, and the promise global executives see in new technologies like AI.

Download infographic Read the 2023 report

Three years after the pandemic ushered flexibility into the workplace, we’ve found that these measures have not only remained but also exceeded expectations

Flexibility offerings 2021 & 2023

In 2021 ~50% of employees expected their organisations to continue to offer time and/or location flexibility post-pandemic

Expectation

2021

In 2021 ~50% of employees expected their organisations to continue to offer time and/or location flexibility post-pandemic

Our 2023 study found that over 90% of companies offer at least time and/or location flexibility to some and all employees

Reality

2023

Our 2023 study found that over 90% of companies offer at least time and/or location flexibility to some and all employees

Initial concerns that work flexibility could hinder performance have been persistently challenged. At times, executives are even more optimistic than their employees. Perceptions around wellbeing continue to drive flexible work efforts and have become a north star for companies leading the way.

Employees see improvements in performance and wellbeing

2021

Employees who felt flexible work positively impacted

Employee productivity

58%

Innovation

44%

Financial performance

Not asked

Physical wellbeing

63%

Mental wellbeing

63%

Financial wellbeing

53%

Professional wellbeing

40%

Executives see improvements in performance and wellbeing

2023

Executives who believe flexible work improved

Employee productivity

82%

Innovation

79%

Financial performance

82%

Physical wellbeing

77%

Mental wellbeing

77%

Financial wellbeing

77%

Professional wellbeing

78%

Given these positive trends, executives are more confident in the future of flexible work.

64%

of executives say their organisations have a corporate commitment to providing more work flexibility in the near future.

Despite gains at a business level, companies are still struggling to find the right approach to creating a cohesive culture as workplace trust, connection and collaboration continue to lag.

100

57%

of employees felt disconnected from their organisation and co-workers

2021

35%

of executives still see disconnection among employees as a top implementation challenge

2023

100

56%

of workers felt that the lack of face-to-face supervision created a sense of distrust

2021

60%

of executives agree that trust between managers and direct reports has deteriorated since the adoption of flexible work

2023

38%

of executives see the lack of real-time collaboration among people working across different time zones as the top challenge to implementing flexible work.

31%

of executives say frictions or inefficiency in collaboration among employees working across locations and time zones is also a top five challenge in this category

In the face of these challenges, coupled with growing economic uncertainty, the temptation is to roll back flexible work adoption and implementation.

77%

of executives said that if the economy declines, their organisation will provide less work flexibility to reduce risks

This kind of roll back may be an easy fix, but identifying and addressing the root causes of connection and collaboration challenges can be a way forward.

Top implementation challenges

Lack of real-time collaboration among people working across different time zones

Disconnection between new joiners and existing employees

Inefficiency or fatigue from too many meetings

Lack of visibility/information on the outcomes of flexible work models

Frictions or inefficiency in collaboration among employees working across locations and time zones

Poor and inaccessible technology was cited as one of the top adoption challenges by executives this year:Top 5 adoption challenges

Leadership’s inability to adapt to new working practices

Insufficient policies to achieve pre-pandemic levels of productivity

Lack of managerial skills to manage workflows among flexible/remote workers

Poor/few technology tools to support distributed collaboration

Unequal access to technology tools among employees from different regions or functions (eg, knowledge versus frontline workers)

Some technologies used to address connection and creativity challenges are being overused and others remain unexplored.

64%

of executives say they continue to primarily use meetings to foster collaboration

50%

of executives say that basic tools that facilitate formal and informal collaboration (like online messaging platforms, tools for real-time collaboration and project management software) are only rarely/sometimes used

Inappropriate use of technology is also contributing to a decrease in trust. These technologies are often used to substitute for improvements in management.

62%

say that online tracking tools are assessing employees’ work progress

42%

say they have not instituted mandatory training for managers to manage hybrid/remote teams

Executives see great promise in new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) as part of the solution to ensure access, trust and engagement are strengthened.