How IT Is Managing the New Challenges of a Flexible Work Environment

Did you know that a majority of employees prefer a hybrid remote work environment? Read this article to learn more.

Hybrid work has changed everything — from the way employees communicate to the infrastructure needed to keep them connected, productive, secure, and going strong. Figuring out the logistics of successfully navigating these changes has fallen primarily on IT teams, and in this new report you’ll get clear insight into their top challenges, priorities, and early results.

See the numbers behind emerging hybrid work trends:

• Find out what employees cited as the most-preferred weekly in-office/remote work schedule (Hint: It’s NOT the classic five days from the office. Not even close.)
• See stats on the impact of remote work on productivity, communication, stress, feeling connected to coworkers, and more.
• Learn what % of organizations have invested in new hardware, software, and policies to support remote and hybrid employees.
• Get stats on the average increase in shadow IT introduced by hybrid and remote setups.
• See where most organizations stand in terms of updating their security guidelines and privacy policies to account for remote and hybrid work.

Content Summary

Executive Summary
Key Findings
Hybrid Work, Model of the Future or Temporary Necessity?
Current work model vs preferred work model
Communication and Collaboration are Top New Challenges of Hybrid Remote Work
Clear IT Management Rules are Required for Hybrid Work to Succeed
Lack of Ownership, Unclear Policies Drive New Challenges for IT Security
Conclusion and Recommendations

Hybrid work has changed everything, from the way employees communicate to the infrastructure needed to maintain organizational efficiency. In many cases, it’s up to IT to solve these new problems and this report will help show how

Executive Summary

Remote and mobile working has been a trend for years – it makes work more flexible and often more pleasant. However, hybrid work models were the exception and not the norm. To make hybrid work successful and improve collaboration within teams while at the same time making employees more productive, organizations need to work closely with their IT and security teams to ensure the right tools and policies are in place. The pandemic has given this development a boost as IT budgets and decisions have demanded more influence and led to greater adoption of new cloud-based tools that can be accessed from anywhere. However, for some this rapid shift has come at the cost of setting adequate security policies in place to reduce risk and improve user experiences.

To better understand how organizations have adapted to hybrid-remote working and assess its impact on employees, we surveyed 400 employees in regulated industries about their experiences with hybrid work models and the security policies their organization has put in place. Of the respondents, 200 work in the finance and insurance industry and 200 work in the public sector. We grouped the survey results into four themes – hybrid work in general, communication issues, IT management, and security.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, we found that a majority of employees prefer a hybrid remote work environment. Nevertheless, the experiences regarding team communication vary and, in some cases, can be negative. We also found that many organizations are still too cavalier when it comes to managing these and other platforms enabling hybrid working. Investments in technology and the introduction of new software solutions, as well as communication channels suitable for remote work, were often stymied by a lack of guidelines, inadequate IT management, unclear responsibilities, and too little security training.

Key Findings

• Hybrid work models are in favor with the majority of employees preferring to work this way in the future. Less than 10% of respondents cited the “five-day week at the office” as their preferred work model.
• Hybrid work models can increase an organization’s security risk. About 25% of respondents use non-approved software or non-approved communication channels for work.
• Organizations are not taking the management of mobile IT and new communication channels seriously enough. More than 30% of employees are responsible for managing communication channels, updates, IT security and bug fixes themselves or do not know who to contact for this.
• Organizations are playing catch up when it comes to rules and guidelines on data privacy or security. Since working in hybrid set-ups, altogether almost half of the respondents (45%) either were provided with minimal or no rules and formal guidelines, or they weren’t aware of this information.
• While the trend is pointing in the right direction, many companies have not yet adapted their policies to hybrid working. Still, 20% of the respondents stated their company has not changed any policies.
• Security training is not regularly on the agenda of all companies, although the respondents work in highly regulated industries. For 15% of the respondents, the last mandated security training was longer than six months ago. For another 13%, it was longer than a year ago and 14% never received such training.

Hybrid Work, Model of the Future or Temporary Necessity?

What is the best and most productive way to work? Classic five days in the office or remote, from the home office or as a mobile worker? The answers to these questions are as individual as each employee and each job. Hybrid work describes any combination of office and remote work and comes with very special challenges. For example, the employees must be provided with the appropriate equipment and learn how to use the associated software solutions and communication channels. First, we asked the survey participants about their current work situation in order to learn more about their experiences and wishes.

Currently, no respondents work the classic five days a week in the office. In both industries, more than 30% of respondents currently work remotely every day. Another 30% are only in the office one or two days a week and work from home or mobile for the rest of the time. These working models seem to have become established: Only about one in ten change from week to week.

By and large, most employees are satisfied with this and can also imagine working remotely in full or in part in the future. Here, too, the survey results from both sectors are similar: More than a quarter (26.5% each) of respondents see working remotely 5 days a week as their preferred way to work. A third would prefer to be able to go into the office one or two days a week and work remotely otherwise. But there are also employees who would prefer to return to the classic office routine altogether: 6.5% of the public sector employees surveyed and as many as 10% of those working in the financial sector would prefer this.

Current work model vs preferred work model

In many cases, the strong desire for the option to work remotely runs counter to the organization’s previous philosophy. Prior to the pandemic, only 30% of organizations in the financial sector and as few as 19% of employers in the public sector offered this option to all of their employees. In some organizations, only certain employees, such as management, were allowed to work remotely. 30% of public sector employers fully relied on office presence before the pandemic compared to 23% in the financial sector.

Do organizations have reasons to be skeptical about remote work? What are the drawbacks and how much do they matter? Using several criteria, we wanted to get to the bottom of these questions. Negative effects on employee productivity are often cited by employers as a reason to justify a return to the office. But the majority of employees surveyed did not agree with this assumption: In both industries, the clear majority considered themselves more productive in their home office. Many noted no difference. However, that increased productivity may come at a personal cost, 40% of workers reported working longer hours when remote.

But there are other criteria that are important when deciding whether hybrid work makes sense. We took a closer look at the topics of communication, IT management and security.

Communication and Collaboration are Top New Challenges of Hybrid Remote Work

Is it just a feeling or is it really true that informal exchanges and communication in general decrease due to physical separation? As report shows, the jury is still out on the true effect but new communication channels are certainly impacting team dynamics.

The survey results portray a mixed picture, with some respondents noting that new communication channels had made their days more stressful and harder to accomplish tasks while at the same time helping employees feel more connected to their co-workers and more productive. Around half of the employees in both industries feel that new or now more frequently used communication channels, such as video chats or similar, are helpful in working more productively. At the same time, nearly a quarter of respondents report problems: 23% of workers now find it more difficult to find exactly the channel or information they need. Across both sectors, more than one in four said their work was now more difficult and/or stressful.

Employers and team leaders are therefore faced with a difficult situation, as opinions differ greatly. It is advisable to take a look at the details. How has communication changed in the teams?

These results are also inconclusive. More than a quarter of respondents feel that there is less team communication than was previously common in the office. Even more respondents feel that there are fewer opportunities to exchange ideas informally. Misunderstandings arise and make collaboration more difficult. These could be the reasons why around 30% now work less closely with their colleagues. Even if these facts do not necessarily lead to dissatisfaction or poorer work results, employers and team leaders should not overlook such changes in the team. In the medium and long term, cooperation could be severely impaired.

Clear IT Management Rules are Required for Hybrid Work to Succeed

If organizations want their employees to work remotely, they should ensure that they are provided with the appropriate infrastructure and support networks to be successful. Whenever possible, organizations should set the rules of the road and own the responsibility and securing, managing, and supporting the tools and devices employees use. This report shows that many organizations are employing a mixed approach to device management but have made new infrastructure investments.

55% of organizations in both industries provided their employees with the devices they needed. Another 23% of respondents had the option to choose between their own and corporate devices. 21% were asked to use their personal devices for work.

In addition to technology, a hybrid work model needs very practical rules. Which employees work remotely for how many days? Who coordinates the hybrid workers so that operational safety is always guaranteed and the teams are still able to work? Established guidelines are unlikely to fit such an unusual situation.

In addition, organizations took a wide range of steps to support a hybrid work model. According to respondents, about one-third of all organizations felt compelled to define new operational safety protocols and office occupancy schedules. An equal number of organizations developed guidelines to determine which employees work remotely, when, and for how long. About one-fifth of organizations formed cross-functional expert groups to advise other employees on hybrid work.

In addition, organizations took a wide range of steps to support a hybrid work model. According to respondents, about one-third of all organizations felt compelled to define new operational safety protocols and office occupancy schedules. An equal number of organizations developed guidelines to determine which employees work remotely, when, and for how long. About one-fifth of organizations formed cross-functional expert groups to advise other employees on hybrid work.

Lack of Ownership, Unclear Policies Drive New Challenges for IT Security

Many organizations have invested in their security tools and policies but more work can be done to reinforce gains and train staff. Report found that staff or department leaders are often tasked with maintaining their tools, but this can lead to missed application updates, bugs that impair productivity, and the inability to support an employee when something goes wrong. The lack of clarity around ownership of technology is a clear area that should be improved upon.

About a quarter of all employees use software and communication channels that the organization has not approved. The reasons for this may be varied, from a lack of ease with new technology and software to unclear rules, or simply because they feel the changes impair their productivity. But the fact remains that unapproved and therefore unsecured software solutions and communication channels are an immense security risk.

It is not always clear who is responsible for the management of communication channels or for updates, security issues and bug fixes. This could be a reason why employees use non-approved software or feel an extra effort due to the new solutions. More than 30% of respondents in both industries said they were either responsible for this themselves or did not know who the right contact person was.

The answers to the question of whether there are special guidelines for data privacy and security in the organization are similarly distributed. At 55%, more than half of respondents said their organizations have such guidelines. A further 23% said their organization had at least some data protection and security guidelines. The final 22% said their organization had no such guidelines or they weren’t sure if they did or not.

At this point, it is interesting to see what specific measures the organizations have taken to ensure data privacy and security in hybrid workplaces. The most frequently cited measure was the introduction of new identity management software, such as multi-factor authentication, followed by improved cross-functional collaboration and the adoption of new security software.

From the survey results, we can conclude that the vast majority of organizations have taken at least one or more additional measures to arm themselves against the growing threats. Of those organizations that have not changed their policies, some may have already been well secured. Nevertheless, there is always room for improvement. Individual measures all too often prove insufficient in practice. Securing an organization should be taken in layers and holistically address the security of employees, devices, cloud environments, and physical locations.

However, many measures are of little use if employees are not trained accordingly. This is where organizations have some catching up to do: 41% of respondents stated that they had either never received security training or that the last training had taken place more than 6 months ago.

What does this mean in daily work life? Employees who are not sufficiently trained in security issues can easily become a security risk. The human factor should not be neglected, because even without malicious intent, gaps are created by mistakes, carelessness, and ignorance. Regular security training is not a necessary evil, but one of the most effective security measures of all.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Hybrid work models have come to stay – along with the challenges related to team collaboration and communication, IT management, and IT security. Based on the survey results, we recommend the following.

Find the right balance for good collaboration

Collaboration and communication in hybrid working teams does not automatically occur. Keep an eye on how your employees feel. Regular feedback meetings that focus specifically on the work situation can help prevent dissatisfaction. Fixed meeting days or regular, informal video meetings strengthen the feeling of cooperation. Also, by understanding what communication channels employees are using for work, IT teams can better devise a strategy to move employees to a managed, unified platform.

Ensure clear responsibilities and rules

Check whether your current rules and guidelines regarding working hours and attendance still fit. For example, if employees are not required to work set hours, it’s important to make sure they are aware of their support options outside of normal business hours. Hybrid work works best when employees have access to and are comfortable with a powerful and secure remote infrastructure. Clear rules and responsibilities also help support a productive work environment.

Strengthen security measures in a targeted manner

Organizations have to make sure they recognize any remote devices that interacts with company data, including devices in employees’ homes, are an important part of their company IT infrastructure. These devices must be properly managed and secured, just as they would be in the office and that means that new remote management tools, identity management, and other user security tools are all needed to maintain high levels of security compliance. Finally, make sure that your employees receive regular security training and actively involve them in your security strategy.

Invest in unified tools for efficient and scalable endpoint management

Employees today are using multiple pieces of software and hardware to succeed in their jobs now and those tools need to be properly updated, configured, and managed to keep them efficient and productive. Whenever possible, organizations should take ownership of their employees’ work devices, but to do it securely and efficiently they should seek out a unified set of tools. New, cloud-first tools are now available and can enable a small IT team to efficiently manage hundreds or thousands of devices through intelligent automation.