Businesses still have a long way to go to sort the biggest hybrid work problem

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

New resarch has revealed some of the key reasons why some businesses are still finding hybrid working tough.

After two years of wide-scale WFH adoption, many employers are still struggling to support remote workers, according to Mitel's survey of 1,361 medium and large-scale businesses (each with 250-10,000 employees).

It found an estimated 44% of the British workforce will continue to work from home 3-4 days of the week, and 20% intend to work exclusively from their own homes. These trends are mirrored in several other studies that all suggest that hybrid working will play an important role moving forward.

Improve working from home

Three-quarters (75%) of the workers asked said that they think better communication and online collaboration tools help their productivity, but only one third (33%) of the companies claim to have “mature remote work practices with advanced communication and collaboration tools.”

> Here's the best video conferencing tools around

> Nearly all workers would take a pay cut to WFH forever

> Microsoft Viva wants to make work training less painful at last

A recent Microsoft report also believes that communication solutions are lacking by many businesses, too. The solution, according to Mitel and Techaisle, is for companies to invest into better collaboration tools. In an era of ever-tightening budgets, 69% of the companies surveyed said that multi-purpose communication and collaboration technology - known as Unified Communications (UC) platforms - would be more appropriate.

The best productivity tools should offer a variety of payment methods, including subscription-based and one-time purchase options, which should meet the almost equal number of businesses who either prefer capital or operational expenditure.

Productivity isn’t the only thing that better communication tools are designed to achieve. The Great Resignation, which has seen workers more willing to change jobs due to dissatisfaction, has put an even larger emphasis on the mental health and wellbeing of employees.

Check out the best video conferencing software

With several years’ experience freelancing in tech and automotive circles, Craig’s specific interests lie in technology that is designed to better our lives, including AI and ML, productivity aids, and smart fitness. He is also passionate about cars and the decarbonisation of personal transportation. As an avid bargain-hunter, you can be sure that any deal Craig finds is top value!