83% of employees prefer hybrid work model, reveals Zoom study

The latest survey by Zoom has revealed that employees feel most productive in hybrid settings, with 83% agreeing they get more work done in a hybrid or remote setting than in-office or onsite.

Zoom on Friday released a survey, titled “Navigating the Future of Work: Global Perspectives on Hybrid Models and Technology” at its EX Summit 2024 in Asia Pacific (APAC). The study surveyed more than 600 IT and C-suite leaders and nearly 1,900 knowledge workers across the globe, including 604 in APAC.

The study found that the majority of organisations in APAC are embracing flexible working arrangements, with 84% of organisations adopting either a hybrid (58%) or remote (26%) working model.

87% of the business leaders in APAC considered increasing productivity to be the biggest consideration when determining the best working style for their company, the highest figure compared to 86% in North America, and 81% in Western Europe.

Hybrid might be the preferred work model for leaders and employees alike, but many APAC companies are still experimenting with the various types of hybrid models. Notably, scheduled hybrid (27%) and flextime hybrid (19%) have emerged as the most common workplace models in the region, with another 13% of organisations adopting other kinds of hybrid workplace models organised around roles, locations, and outcomes, the survey said. As many as 97% of APAC leaders said they have made their workplaces more flexible in the past two years, a Zoom survey added.

However, six in 10 leaders in the region reported a decline in employee engagement attributed to hybrid models. Even as hybrid becomes the dominant work model, 77% of leaders in APAC said it is likely that their organisation will change its workplace model in the next two years.

'GenAI-a key driver of future workplace success'

Generative AI has emerged as a key tool for employee productivity in the hybrid era. For instance, APAC organisations recorded the highest use of meeting transcripts at 53%, followed by 40% in the US, and 38% in Western Europe. Besides, 59% of the APAC organisations use chatbots as compared to 52% in the US and 58% in Western Europe. Further, 85% of APAC leaders believe that generative AI has made their workforce more productive. Whereas 69% of employees in the region strongly or slightly agreed that AI made their job easier. However, as per the Zoom report, 81% of the employees in the APAC firms said that organisations need to improve tools and technology for remote work.