As 2022 comes to a close, employees are still craving remote and hybrid work

Can you buy happiness? Maybe not, but you can invest in it. Less money wasted, increased productivity, better work-life balance and environmentally-friendly benefits —  hybrid and remote work continue to be the workplace trends that check off all the boxes for employers and their employees.

According to multiple surveys conducted throughout 2022 by flexible-work job site Flexjobs, a resounding 97% of workers wanted a fully remote or hybrid position, and 84% of respondents said that these types of work arrangements would make them a happier person. At a time when people are looking for more flexibility in the workplace, organizations are seeing the benefits as well. FlexJobs found that 48% of employers are planning to maintain some form of remote work moving forward, and gives good incentives for more companies to follow suit. 

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Initiating a hybrid or remote work routine has led to increased company savings and worker productivity. Research shows that businesses lose $600 billion a year to workplace distractions, and that remote workers are 35-40% more productive than those in the office full time. 

“It’s important to talk to your employees,” says Toni Frana, career services manager at FlexJobs. “Do a pulse check of where they are and what it is they really want, and evaluate the data to see what can be done to make this a more formalized process. Employers and employees can come together to be very powerful in finding the best way forward.”  

Recruitment and retention numbers are also affected by a company’s flexibility. A March 2022 FlexJobs survey found that over half of respondents would leave their job if the company didn’t offer remote work options, and over three quarters chose remote work as the second highest compensation and benefit that was important to them. This recent shift in priorities was reflected in a later July survey of 4,000 workers, in which 31% chose better pay as a priority, while over double that number — 63% — chose work-life balance. 

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The employee benefits of hybrid and remote work parallel those of their employers, with a few additions. Savings estimates for those who work from home average $6,000 a year, according to FlexJobs, as employees cut down on commuting and other in-office related expenses. And a study by Microsoft found that 90% of workers reported being productive in a remote or hybrid arrangement.

“Employees are actually gaining time,” Frana says. “Productivity can increase because workers are actually gaining time to put back in their day, and reinvesting it into work or other things.” 

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That gift of time can be a valuable tool to help workers dodge feelings of burnout. In fact, Flexjobs has reported that employees without access to flexible work are nearly two times more likely to have poor or very poor mental health. Of those with flexible work options, 48% say their work-life balance is excellent or very good, and 54% have the emotional support they need at work. For 56%, having flexibility in their workday was overwhelmingly listed as the top way workplaces can better support their employees.

“Some of the strongest working relationships can be found in remote teams,” Frana says. “Organizations that do this successfully have an intentional and proactive approach, and when that is applied, the relationships between coworkers and employees and supervisors can be meaningful and and just as effective, if not more so, than if people are in an office together every day.”