Study Shows the Future of Work Will Be Flexible

As businesses look beyond the current global health crisis, one thing is becoming clear. Moving forward, they will be managing a different kind of workforce—one that is more complex, blending traditional office roles and remote employment. A recent study by Gartner found that 82 percent of business leaders think their organizations will be letting employees continue to work from home at least part of the time, and 47 percent say they will be allowing employees to do so permanently. The outbreak gave businesses a chance to experiment with nontraditional work situations and wide-scale remote employment, said Gartner HP Practice Advisory Vice President Elisabeth Joyce, and many, she says, will have a difficult time going back to the way things once were. “The question now facing many organizations is not how to manage a remote workforce but how to manage a more complex, hybrid workforce.” The study also found 43 percent of organizations are planning to allow for flex days, and 42 will allow flex hours. The survey also found 15 percent are considering transitioning to a four-day, 10-hour day workweek.