IT works best in a hybrid work environment, according to a new report from Info-Tech Research Group. Hybrid work is an environment in which employees work at home some of the time and in the employer’s location some of the time.
“State of Hybrid Work in IT: A Trend Report” found that companies with a higher degree of hybrid work had higher effectiveness scores than those with little or none.
The study, which was based on a survey more than 500 IT professionals from several countries – but mostly the U.S. and Canada – found that those using a higher level of hybrid work maintained or improved service desk support satisfaction and received increased or consistent infrastructure and operations customer satisfaction scores.
Hybrid work impacts operations in multiple ways. Only 13% of respondents said that their deployment processes remained unchanged following the shift to hybrid work. The survey also suggested that hybrid work has accelerated digitization and modernization of IT processes, infrastructure and communications modernization.
The study also suggested the ways in which hybrid work impacted employees. For example, it has become the most important work option in the hiring process. Perhaps unsurprisingly, more than half of organizations are considering expanding these options.
The hybrid option also was found to be a tool for smaller organizations trying to keep pace in a declining economy. In addition, the study found that a hybrid scenario is better than full work at home because spending some time in the office created “a failsafe should technology or other barriers stand in the way of effective distance communication or connection with coworkers.”
At the end of the day, there is no cookie cutter approach, however.
“The days of a ‘typical’ workplace have passed. When it comes to the new world of hybrid work, there is no best-of-breed example to follow,” Jane Kouptsova, Info-Tech’s senior research analyst, People & Leadership Practice, said in a press release. “Among the flood of contradictory decisions made by industry leaders and tech giants, IT teams must forge their own path, informed by the needs of employees and organizational goals.”