The great return-to-office (RTO) isn’t showing any signs of slowing down – even government workers have been ordered back in following Donald Trump’s return to office.
But a new study suggests that, in terms of yielding the best business results on metrics such as collaboration, innovation and mentorship, it doesn’t really matter whether companies insist on office working compared to remote or hybrid models.
The same report also shows a vast disjoint between how employers and employees view the effectiveness of their companies’ working practices, especially when it comes to skill development.
RTO vs Remote vs Hybrid
The study was carried out by consultancy giant McKinsey & Company, who surveyed more than 8,000 employers and 3,000 executives across 15 industries in the US last October.
Its headline finding was that “the working model doesn’t matter” when it comes to how well organizations support key working practices.
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“Changing the working model alone will not resolve or even change the nature of the problem unless organizations address why their employees feel this way.” – McKinsey & Company
That said, the hybrid model saw the most positive feedback on all five core practices that the survey asked about: collaboration, connectivity, innovation, mentorship and skill development.
It was most substantially seen as a positive for connectivity, with 72% of respondents agreeing that the model provided the feeling of community with peers, managers and leaders, as well as alignment with the broader organizational mission.
Does Remote Working Work?
The report confirms the ongoing shift back to RTO – Dell is the most recent big tech company to announce a 5-day-a-week RTO mandate, following in the footsteps of the likes of Amazon and Elon Musk’s interests – with 68% of respondents saying that their company policy now required mostly working from the office; doubled from the year before.
17% said that they mostly worked remotely, with 14% working to a hybrid model.
However, the results also imply that working in person does not have a significantly positive affect on the core practices.
Less than half said that it aids mentorship or skill development. And more said that working remotely was better for collaboration and innovation than doing so in person (although the difference between the two was within 4% of each other); statistics that appear to reinforce previous studies that show RTO mandates aren’t necessarily effective.
A Chasm in Experiences
Further data from McKinsey’s survey demonstrates that workers and managers are far from on the same page when it comes to their lived working experiences.
90% of surveyed leaders view connectivity as a mature and well-functioning practice, for example, compared to just 67% of employees. And there was a similar gap on each of the other four practices in question.
McKinsey explain this disconnect as the gulf between the strategic perspective and autonomy shaping the approach of senior leaders, contrasting to the lack of empowerment and support facing their staff.
“This lived work experience creates a chasm in many organizations, harming the work environment, engagement, and, ultimately, performance.” – McKinsey & Company
