A recent Gallup survey of 9,000 U.S. workers revealed that only 28% of remote workers feel a connection to the purpose of their organization. However, 35% of hybrid employees say their company's mission makes their job feel important, even higher than full-time office workers.
Throughout the covid pandemic, many employees have begun to approach their work with a "gig-worker" mentality, fulfilling their basic responsibilities while neglecting tacit expectations such as mentorship and innovation. Taking on those broader expectations is "much more likely to happen if they feel they're part of something significant," said Jim Harter, Chief Workplace Scientist at Gallup.
Industry leaders have grown wary of this dynamic. A survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that the majority of business leaders believe that remote work is good for recruiting, but deleterious to organizational culture.
Hybrid work will likely be a constant going forward, as many employees categorically refuse to return to the office full-time. If leaders hope to gain the morale benefits of such arrangements, without damaging their organizational culture, they would be wise to improve their behavioral and network science expertise to take an active role in managing that culture.
Join The Discussion