We're over two years into the global pandemic and, by this point, most of us have hopefully now got used to the new way of working remotely or, more recently, in a hybrid mix of the home and office.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that the tools that companies deploy for communications and collaboration are up to scratch.
That's the headline from a new survey from Lucid Software, which found while 90% of workers are happy to accept hybrid working, around 65% have at least one issue with their work tools.
Hybrid: The final frontier
Beyond the vast majority finding that remote working tools aren't perfect, the survey has some other interesting insights.
A whopping 80% of workers now argue that virtual collaboration is essential to doing their job effectively, a further 67% argue that virtual meetings offer space for those who don't usually share ideas to speak up, and 78% say a simple chat function helps them contribute in meetings.
Keeping track of everything was a sticking point: 47% said that they wanted a better way to track key points and actions from virtual meetings.
Around 56% said that meetings are often dominated by the loudest in the virtual room, something that even in-person meetings can suffer from.
The company spoke to over 3,000 respondents in the UK, the US, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands who work full-time and participate in one virtual meeting per week.
“The global pandemic has caused two years of uncertainty on how the return to office will shape up, including how the mix of remote, in-person and hybrid workers will impact the workplace," said Lucid's CMO Nathan Rawlins. "This ongoing uncertainty is forcing organizations to carefully consider how well digital collaboration is working for their employees."
“Amidst the uncertainty, workers have adapted. Our data shows that while there is positive momentum around digital collaboration, there are also challenges and different collaboration styles among the respondents. As the workplace continues to evolve, companies will benefit greatly from addressing the needs of these workstyles.”
