39% of global knowledge workers to go hybrid by 2023-end: Report

New Delhi, March 1 (IANS) Around 39 per cent of global knowledge workers will go hybrid by the end of this year, up from 37 per cent in 2022, a report showed on Wednesday.

About 9 per cent of global knowledge workers will work fully remote and in the US, 51 per cent of them will go hybrid while 20 per cent will be fully remote, according to a Gartner report.

“Hybrid is no longer just an employee perk but an employee expectation,” said Ranjit Atwal, senior director analyst.

Many employees started to partially return to the office in 2022, but the hybrid workstyle will remain prominent in 2023 and beyond.

“To adapt, employers have been implementing a human-centric work design – including flexibility, intentional collaboration and empathy-based management – which suits hybrid employees,” Atwal added.

IT workers are more inclined to quit their jobs than employees in other functions as they look for greater flexibility, improved work-life balance and better career opportunities.

The number of remote workers is expected to continue to fall year over year. Gartner estimates that remote workers will represent only 9 per cent of all employees worldwide by the end of 2023.

“For remote-first or hybrid organizations, fully mature virtual workspaces may replace the office as the embodiment of company culture and become the center of the digital employee experience,” said Christopher Trueman, senior principal analyst.

“Virtual workspaces should only be used for meetings and interactions that will be enhanced by them, such as brainstorming, product reviews, or social gatherings,” Trueman added.

While all countries have increased their proportion of hybrid and fully remote work since 2019, the allure of fully remote and hybrid work varies significantly by country, said the report.

–IANS

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