Researcher cites importance of trust, time to decompress as employers implement hybrid work
More than half of hybrid workers in New Zealand said they're more productive as the work arrangement gains further ground across the country.
A recent Massey University study revealed that 51.3% of hybrid employees in New Zealand said they are more productive at home.
Researcher Jarrod Harr told 1News that this benefit from hybrid working been a "consistent finding" since they started recording data during COVID times.
"I've been following this since COVID times and we are finding, overall the majority of hybrid workers are more innovative, are more productive," Harr told the news outlet.
The researcher attributed this to two factors.
"One is the trust that you get when your employee lets you work from home, so you put it in the bit of the extra effort, he said. "But for things like innovation, you just get that time to decompress away from your coworkers, and the colleagues, and perhaps a pressing deadline so I think we're seeing some gains there."
Hybrid work gains ground
The findings are based on Harr's wellbeing@work study, which has been surveying between 1,000 and 1,135 employees across six different months between November 2021 and December 2023, according to 1News.
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It found that the number of employees carrying out hybrid work went up to 41.7% in December 2023, higher than the 28.4% in June 2023, and up from the 32.3% in December 2022.
"Professional workers are slightly more likely to be doing hybrid work," Harr told 1News.
This is because there are roles, such as in supermarket and retail fast food, where there is very little opportunity to work from home, according to the researcher.
Trust issues from leaders
Harr's findings come as many business leaders cast doubt on their employees' productivity when under hybrid work.
In 2022, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff asked if the company's hybrid office policy affected the "much lower productivity" from their pandemic hires.
But Harr said their findings revealed that those who brought employees back on site haven't seen an increase in their productivity.
Trust issues from employers regarding productivity under hybrid work can be solved if leaders convey their expectations, according to the researcher.
"It's actually quite simple. As a leader, as a direct manager, it's your job to outline your expectations. If they're being met you should be happy and if they're being exceeded you should think 'gee whiz I'm onto something here,'" he said.