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There remains a sharp split on how remote work and hybrid jobs are performing more than two years after they became commonplace: While 87% of workers believe their productivity is OK, almost 85% of managers fear that they can’t detect if employees are doing enough work. That was the conclusion of a survey on corporate attitudes conducted by Microsoft Corp., a major player in the workplace software industry and the proprietor of LinkedIn. The “productivity phobia” that Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella refers to as being caused by managers’ anxieties about idle workers leads to unfavorable outcomes like employee snooping.
In order to analyze trends and modify its technology to meet customer needs, Microsoft has been conducting periodic global employee surveys in a range of industries since the epidemic began. The most recent statistics included responses from 20,000 workers in 11 countries.
Microsoft has been providing tools like its Viva employee experience software to close the gap that the data has repeatedly shown exists between managers and the rank-and-file. In order to assist teams to synchronise their objectives and keep in touch, Viva today has more than 10 million active monthly users at organizations including PayPal Holdings Inc. and Unilever Plc.
Microsoft wants business leaders to understand that workplace surveillance is not the answer to increasing efficiency, even as new communication capabilities are bringing managers and staff closer together.
Because they permitted this type of behavior, Microsoft itself had to modify and scale back some capabilities in its office software. A privacy advocate complained that the company’s Productivity Score tool, which made it too simple to snoop on specific employees, made improvements to the feature in 2020.
Mass resignations and other pandemic work trends appear to be waning. The “Great Reshuffle” and “Great Resignation,” as LinkedIn and Microsoft dubbed them, are slowing down for the first time in the past 18 months. According to Ryan Roslansky, the service’s founder and CEO, the number of LinkedIn users changing professions has plateaued. In-person responsibilities are also increasingly frequently listed in job postings.
Prior to the pandemic, just 2% of employment on LinkedIn were remote positions; by March 2022, that proportion had risen to 20%. He stated it had now decreased to 15%.
According to Spataro, many senior corporate executives desire for the in-person workdays of the time before the pandemic. However, Microsoft still suggests adopting a flexible strategy.
