Xerox survey reveals trends for future workforce.

 

More than 80 per cent of the global workforce will be back in their workplaces within 12 to 18 months, according to a five-nation survey commissioned by Xerox.

 

The survey polled 600 IT decision-makers from the US, Canada, UK, Germany and France in organisations with at least 500 employees. 

 

The poll revealed that 56 per cent of respondents were investing in new resources to accommodate a hybrid workforce split between in-office and remote employees, while 58 per cent planned to change their work-from-home policy within the next year.

 

However, 72 per cent of respondents said they were not fully prepared to meet the digital challenges created by the abrupt transition to remote work. 

 

The main problems in this transition involved inadequate technology (29 per cent), communication breakdown with remote employees (26 per cent) and maintaining focus on work in a remote environment (25 per cent).

 

Prior to the work-from-home requirements created during the pandemic, 33 per cent of respondents said network/data security and privacy was their biggest concern with a remote workforce, while 24 per cent cited concerns over employee productivity and 16 per cent cited technology infrastructure.

 

These concerns, coupled with the belief held by 95 per cent of respondents that in-person communication is important for personal development and assessing talent, indicate widespread remote work will not replace more traditional workspaces.

 

At the same time, 58 per cent plan to change their work-from-home policy within the next year, highlighting the need for companies to support a hybrid workforce.