The employee experience should be at the forefront when building a permanent hybrid workplace. A new report offers insights from the employee point of view. HPE has the expertise and solutions to enable a workplace of the future.
By Jenna Wernham, Marketing Manager, Industry and Workload Marketing Americas
Weighing the options of a hybrid digital workplace to ensure business continuity is top of mind for leaders today. As businesses enable a safe return to on-site work, many are also seeing the benefits of having employees work from home permanently.
When you’re building a permanent hybrid workplace strategy, it’s really important to keep the employee experience at the forefront. That’s why a new report about telework from Pew Research Center caught my eye. It gives some key insights from the point of view of the employee. (See Pew Research Center: How the Coronavirus Has and Hasn't Changed the Way Americans Work)
The report highlights current trends to consider while re-evaluating the current state of business operations. Some of the findings may surprise you.
1. The majority of teleworkers are taking advantage of online tools to keep in touch.
According to the survey, roughly eight-in-ten adults (81%) who are working from home all or most of the time say they use video calling or online conferencing services to keep in touch with co-workers. In general, teleworkers view video conferencing and instant messaging platforms as a good substitute for in-person contact – 65% feel this way. However 35% say this is not a good substitute.
It is encouraging to note that employees are keeping in touch with their colleagues despite the reduction of in-person contact. Delivering the in-office experience can be challenging and teamwork is especially important during these difficult times when day-to-day operations often depend on IT.
2. "Zoom fatigue” doesn’t apply to everyone.
The survey goes on to say, “While communication platforms have helped companies and organizations operate effectively during the pandemic, there has been widespread concern that video calls in particular are taking a toll on workers. Among teleworkers who say they use video calling or online conferencing services often, most (63%) say they are fine with the amount of time they spend on these platforms; 37% say they are worn out by it.”
This would suggest that employees have adapted to the remote work experience. “Zoom fatigue” doesn’t apply to everyone, especially for those who worked from home before the pandemic.
However, that 37% response may suggest why the workplace needs to be truly hybrid, not just “remote.”
3. Post-pandemic, the majority of teleworkers want to work remotely all or most of the time.
According to the study, more than half of employed adults who say that their job responsibilities can mostly be done from home (54%) also say that, if they had a choice, they’d want to work from home all or most of the time when the coronavirus outbreak is over.
How HPE can help you build your hybrid workplace
Understanding what employees value and the associated drivers of performance is meaningful feedback and important to determining the most effective go-forward strategy. HPE can help you design with the flexibility and agility you need, coupled with tailored solutions for various user types. We can help you reduce IT costs through streamlined operations. You might want to consider:
Aruba Hybrid Workplace solutions. In many cases, remote workers are connecting to older equipment in their homes and have never experienced the amount of traffic or the apps being used today. Minimizing IT connectivity, security and performance problems is important for seamless employee collaboration and productivity. Aruba solutions offer the ability to build a trusted, high-capacity, pervasive wireless network. The ability to Identify connectivity needs across user types, implement strong security measures to protect IT infrastructure, and safeguard confidentiality of data are foundational for the long term.
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI). When data sovereignty, privacy and security demand that remote users’ business applications need to remain on premises, but scalability and control of access is necessary, VDI can be a good solution. (Learn more about HPE VDI). In addition, we offer HPE GreenLake for VDI. Configurations are optimized for each type of remote worker such as knowledge, task, power and engineering users. The billing is usage-based and allows for scaling up or down as needed.
Network, Digital Workplace and IoT Services from HPE Pointnext Services. This may be a good time to re-assess your live communications tools, such as video chat, video conferencing and webinar service contracts. HPE can help you evaluate the purpose, features and costs of the technologies, ensure that they are aligned to the business, and provide alternatives worth exploring for the long term.
Identifying the products and services to meet business needs is only one aspect of the larger strategy. Developing a detailed framework for integrating new technology investments into your existing infrastructure can be complex. HPE Pointnext Services can help you maintain productivity and business continuity and ensure employees can connect meaningfully in their day-to-day activities.
HPE is here to help with expertise and experience, technology and partnerships, and as-a-service (aaS) delivery and cloud economics to help you enable your workplace of the future.
Related resources:
On-demand webinar: Hybrid workplace: redefining the employee experience
Infographic: Overcome remote work challenges with HPE Pointnext Services
Aruba ebook: IT’s 5 Toughest Work from Home Challenges and How to Solve them
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