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The way we work is forever changed. In Owl Labs’ 8th Annual State of Hybrid Work report, we'll uncover the latest trends and topics when it comes to hybrid, remote, and in-office work.
Introduction
In the past four years, the way we work has undergone a revolution that shattered nearly 100 years of previous working tradition. Hybrid work proved to be a necessity, then it became a trend, and now some consider it to be the “norm”. While many saw it as a real opportunity for a work-life balance - among many other benefits - others argued that it instead created a new set of workplace issues.
Employers started offering new and improved benefits to draw employees back to the physical office – or so they thought. When that failed, some began forced “return to office” mandates. Employees, on the other hand, made it clear that flexibility would be non-negotiable. We then entered a phase of quiet quitting and stealth management, with managers offering flexible work to their own teams to retain talent, often going against company rules. In other cases, employees started to get creative. Trends like polyworking and coffee badging emerged as employees wanted to maintain flexibility and keep their jobs.
This is where we arrive for Owl Labs’ 8th Annual State of Hybrid Work report. We'll explore the latest trends, dive into what flexible work means today – to both employees and employers – and uncover the surprising factors shaping the future of work. Join us as we peel back the layers of the workplace, discover how to thrive in this ever-evolving landscape, and identify future trends that you’ll need to keep an eye on.
Key Findings
After our 2023 State of Hybrid Work report made it go viral, coffee badging remains popular with 44% of workers still participating in this trend, with 70% admitting they’ve been caught by their employers.
62% of respondents work full-time in-office, compared to 66% in 2023 – a slight downshift.
27% of workers are actively looking to change jobs, up from 23% in 2023.
Over 1 in 4 workers (28%) are “polyworking” with at least one additional job.
Hybrid workers say they spend an average of $42 more per day when they work from the office versus remotely.
Over one-third (34%) of workers admit to posting about their job or employer negatively on social media.
45% of workers said their employers' or colleagues' political opinions make them not want to go into the office.
24% of workers say they use AI tools daily, with an additional 23% of workers using them multiple times a day.
Work anxiety is on the rise with 43% saying their stress levels increased compared to last year.
1 in 4 workers (25%) said their company changed its remote or hybrid working policy in the last year.
22% of workers expect a pay increase if they could no longer work hybrid or remote, and 40% would look for a new job that offered more flexibility.
46% of workers said their company added or increased use of employee productivity or activity monitoring software in the past year.
58% of workers say they “calendar block” to protect their time.
Workcations or “quiet vacationing” may be on the rise, with 58% of employees working remotely from places besides a home office or coworking space.
75% of workers believe their employers are requiring them to work from the office due to traditional expectations, up from 69% in 2023.
1 in 5 workers (22%) are instilling greater boundaries by not taking on work outside of their specific job descriptions.
Current conditions
Section 1
A lot has changed in just one year. The push and pull of return-to-office mandates remain present, job listings are now very clear on in-office requirements, and employees are willing to quit jobs either outright, or quietly, if their employers aren’t meeting their expectations.
Trends like coffee badging and polyworking still remain popular, but we’re seeing new trends present themselves with regularity – in 2024, we’ve seen: the blend of work and social, coined #WorkTok, WFB (Work-From-Bed; formerly known as the “sick day”), calendar blocking (protecting your calendar with pretend meetings) and the “workcation.”
Despite anecdotal narratives that “everyone’s back at the office” now, we learned that 27% of workers are currently working in a hybrid format - up one percentage point from 2023 - and 11% are fully remote - an increase from 7% in 2023. Three remains the most popular number of days in-office for hybrid workers, with 41% of hybrid workers saying that’s how often they go, though only 33% said this matches their preferences.
Read on to learn more about the latest work trends and the current landscape.
How are workers working?
3 days a week is holding strong as the most popular number of days hybrid workers spend in-office.
But let’s talk about hybrid workers’ preferred number of days in-office:
Coffee badging is still popular among workers:
That said, employers are catching employees coffee badging. Are there consequences? Here’s what workers said:
47% of managers coffee badge, compared to just 34% of individual contributors.
Workers also continue to polywork:
32% of managers have at least one additional job, compared to just 19% of individual contributors.
New Trends
Work-From-Bed
Calendar Blocking
#WorkTok Tea
Election Year Office Politics
Where work meets vacation
As workcations are on the rise, here’s the full view of how many times employees have worked outside of the office or home in the past year:
The employee landscape
Section 2
In 2024, workers continued to vocalize their opinions, desires and demands when it comes to how they work. With half of workers (50%) believing that their employers are requiring them to work from the office to fill empty real estate, 25% saying their companies changed their remote or hybrid work policies in the last year, and significantly increased stress levels from 2023, it’s unsurprising that over 1 in 4 workers (27%) are seeking new opportunities.
Another trend that’s showing staying power is the value of the supportive supervisor, also called the “MVP manager.” This year, employees said a supportive manager (92%) is the most important factor to their work behind compensation (94%). Company size plays a factor, as employees of large enterprises are 8 percentage points more likely to cite the importance of a supportive manager than small businesses.
We also learned that workers are over the commute. About 85% commute up to 45 minutes – just one way. Almost 3 in 4 (74%) said they would be more productive at their jobs without a commute, and 28% of respondents said they would be more inclined to go to the office if they had a shorter journey.
Employees are (still) stressed and 89% haven’t seen any recent improvement. Compared to last year, workers’ stress has:
A supportive – or “MVP” – manager is behind only compensation when it comes to important benefits on the job. Top factors:
The top reasons why workers are actively seeking new job opportunities:
If they lost their hybrid work privileges, workers would:
Tired of the commute: The majority of workers (85%) are commuting up to 45 minutes each way.
If they could trade (or drop) their commutes, employers would get more productive, healthy, and well-rounded employees, as workers said they would spend the extra time:
84% of hybrid and remote workers say they eat healthier food when working at home compared to when they work at the office.
The “workday workout” – many employees are staying physically active during the workday – 61% say yes and 39% say no.
Despite assumptions, full-time office workers (47%) are actually more than twice as likely to work out during the workday than their remote counterparts (22%).
38% of workers said that requiring them to work in the office full-time would make them decline a job offer. Other dealbreakers include:
The management landscape
Section 3
While employees navigated challenges over the past year, managers juggled the dual burden of their own stress and the wellbeing of their teams. Workplace stress has increased for all, but even more for managers, with their stress levels soaring 55% higher than non-managers.
As for what’s stressing them out: their workplace worries have fluctuated since last year.
Managers’ concerns around team productivity have increased since 2023. This year, managers say their teams are 62% more productive when working hybrid or remotely, with an additional 22% saying work location doesn’t make a difference. Last year, managers said their remote or hybrid teams were 79% more productive, with 11% saying location didn’t have an impact. Their perception of productivity may have decreased, but it appears that working location is not the driving factor.
Some proximity bias concerns have seemed to decrease since last year. More than half of managers of remote and hybrid employees (56%) said their teams are missing out on impromptu or informal feedback, compared to 68% feeling this sentiment in 2023.
While many managers have gained more experience – and support – with managing different working styles, the concerns they have about their team members differ by work location. More than a quarter of managers (27%) are concerned about employee engagement among their remote workers, while their top concern for in-office workers is employee satisfaction (27%).
Have employers changed their remote/hybrid policies in the past year?
Regardless of official policy changes, employers are making efforts to support remote/hybrid work at their companies. In 2024 alone, employers have:
The vast majority (90%) of hybrid workers say they are just as, or more, productive when working in a hybrid format, but some managers don’t seem to agree:
Managers have different concerns when to comes to remote versus in-office workers:
Top 5 work benefits that would be most appealing in a prospective employer:
Do managers of remote/hybrid employees feel that their team is missing out on impromptu feedback and development opportunities?
Employees are feeling invested in their companies and jobs in a variety of ways:
The ever-evolving workplace
Section 4
Making the office a desirable place to work has seemingly become a growing challenge each year. Gone are the days where free beer and pingpong tables would suffice – employees are now looking for more meaningful benefits and physical spaces that enable them to do their best work. They aren’t opposed to in-office working, they just need more, or different, than what’s worked in the past. In 2024, 91% of workers still say they can be convinced to go into the office if the right benefits are in place (down slightly from 94% in 2023).
Perhaps unsurprisingly, 41% of workers said greater compensation would get them back to the office, with 28% saying a shorter commute, 23% mentioning elimination of dress codes, and 18% lured by better technology. Office setups that offer greater privacy (23%) and more meeting rooms (14%) were also attractive motivators.
It’s important to understand that the office will likely never go back to being a one-size-fits-all solution. There are some tasks that can be performed more effectively at home versus at the office – a concept called task-based hybrid work. In-office activities that make sense? Over half of workers (55%) said meeting new people, 51% said mentoring, and 49% said team meetings were better suited for the office.
With this in mind, employers have been focusing on enhancing the remote and hybrid work experience by training employees and managers to adapt. Learning and development topics this year have included how to hold effective hybrid meetings (49% of employees said their employers offered this) and ways to use mixed communication methods (47%). Another 47% said their companies have increased adoption of AI. In terms of physical changes, 69% of employers have made upgrades ranging from hiring IT staff (28%), upgrading meeting technology (24%), and increasing office space (23%).
Task-based Hybrid Work: Where do workers feel the most productive? It depends on what they’re doing.
What will lure employees back to the office?
Physical changes happening in the office in 2024:
Employers are making changes to improve how employees operate in their workspaces. In 2024 alone, employers have:
Of the companies that hired IT personnel:
Of those that installed new meeting room technology and AV equipment:
Changing attitudes towards work
Section 5
The cultural narrative around work is changing. Workers have begun to question the concept of “the way it’s always been” and haven’t been afraid to share these sentiments. In 2024, #WorkTok flourished as work-related TikToks gained popularity, and over 1 in 3 workers (34%) have posted negatively about their jobs or employers on social media. The majority of employees (75%) believe their employer is requiring them to work from the office because that is “how it’s always been done.” And half (50%) say lack of career progression is their biggest workplace concern, followed by not having the flexibility they want.
Resisting hustle culture is another shifting attitude, with over 1 in 5 workers (22%) instilling greater boundaries by not taking on work outside of their specific job descriptions. About 20% won’t answer company communications outside of work hours, and another 20% take a more laid-back, casual approach in the language they use.
Despite employee productivity (90%) remaining consistent with last year, stress levels are on the rise. When asked why they feel disengaged with their work, 26% said they are feeling burnt out, 22% said they don’t feel fairly compensated, and 17% said their mental health has decreased over the past year.
Proximity bias still remains a workplace concern, however we’ve seen a decline since last year. In 2024, 55% said that their managers view those in the office as harder working and more trustworthy than their remote colleagues, compared to 63% in 2023. More than half (57%) of employees are still more likely to ask the opinion of colleagues they physically work with over remote ones, dropping 10% from 2023.
A supportive manager was only second to compensation when it came to important factors at your job. More factors:
The least important factors in a worker’s job are: office perks (60%) and mentorship opportunities (66%).
Employee behavior is changing. Here’s what they noted:
34% of workers have posted about their employers negatively on social media. This includes:
1 in 3 workers (34%) have posted negatively about their jobs or employers on social media, however, this number increases to almost 1 in 2 (48%) for Gen Z.
43% of employees are feeling disengaged at work – but why?
The top workplace concerns among all types of employees are:
Collaboration truths
Section 6
Meetings are an essential part of most job functions and it can be challenging to hold effective and collaborative meetings when everyone isn’t in the same room. The pendulum has now shifted, with more workers having online or hybrid meetings (86%) than in-person ones (83%). In light of this, it’s more important than ever to evaluate meeting best practices and the technology powering these experiences.
Meeting pain points range from technical difficulties to missing parts of conversations, either auditory or visually. Nearly 3 out of 4 of workers (72%) said they’ve lost time and started meetings late due to technical difficulties, 70% struggle to see everyone’s faces, and another 70% have issues hearing everyone. With 87% saying good technology was an important work factor (up from 83% in 2023), the technology that companies choose is only becoming increasingly important.
Hybrid work has enabled the WFA (work from anywhere) movement, but collaborating with employees across time zones can present scheduling challenges. Nearly 3 in 4 employees (73%) think starting meetings at 8 a.m. or before is too early. We also learned that 58% are calendar blocking: blocking off time in their calendar to protect it from meetings.
Average number of virtual/hybrid meetings versus face-to-face meetings workers have per week:
While they have many benefits, hybrid meetings can also present challenges, especially when using outdated technology. Here are some of the top issues that workers face when attending them:
All types of workers – in-office, hybrid, and remote alike – engage with meeting technology, but do they like it?
The tech (and generational) divide. 51% of Millennials love their hybrid meeting tech, compared to just 17% of Boomers.
Meeting time - what’s too early?
Meeting time - what’s too late?
Do workers block time on their calendars to protect it from meetings? 58% say they do, here’s the breakdown:
Millennial workers block their calendars notably more than any other generation.
Full-time office workers tend to calendar block more than hybrid and remote workers.
Caretakers (67%) calendar block more than non-caretakers (33%).
The cost of working
Section 7
Now that we have entered into a new reality where different working types coexist, there are financial implications – both direct and indirect – on the employee and employer alike.
For some workers, their resistance to going to the office comes down to dollars and cents. Workers are still paying substantially more each day they go to the office than they do when they work remotely. Hybrid workers say they spend an average of $61 a day at the office, a 20% increase from $51 in 2023. The cost to work from home also increased, but only slightly up to $19 per day, compared to $15 a day in 2023.
This may be why 22% of hybrid workers said that if they were no longer allowed to work remotely or hybrid, they would expect a pay increase to make up for the additional costs. The pay adjustments could go the other way, too – nearly 1 in 5 workers (19%) said they would give up 10% of their annual income for a 4-day work week, flexible working hours, or a better health insurance plan.
However, the cost to employers can not be ignored. We know that employees want more compensation if they can no longer work hybrid or remotely. We also know that turnover, including the recruiting and onboarding processes of new employees can use up company time and investments. Nearly 1 in 3 (32%) employees said it takes 1-3 months to fully get up to speed in their job, that is, after they are recruited and hired.
How have working costs changed since 2023?
What’s in the $61? Here’s a cost breakdown:
What percentage of their salaries would workers sacrifice to get certain benefits?
Over 1 in 4 workers are polyworking (28%), with another 14% planning to start in the next year. What are the main reasons for workers having an additional job?
How long does it take to fully understand a new job?
More than 1 in 3 workers (37%) believe their compensation is affected by their working location.
Future trending
Section 8
Exploring trends inevitably leads us to emerging technologies that are infusing the workplace, from AI, to augmented reality (AR), to virtual reality (VR). Nearly 3 out of 4 workers (72%) have used an AI tool to aid them in performing their jobs, with 23% saying they use it multiple times a day.
The interest in telepresence and AR/VR technologies in the workplace slightly increased from 2023, with 46% saying they were interested in these technologies at work, compared to 44% last year.
Meanwhile, employee monitoring tools have become a growing privacy concern. Nearly half of employees (46%) said their employers added or increased the use of employee tracking software in 2024. And 86% of employees agreed that it should be a legal requirement for employers to disclose if they are using these tools.
Is the 4-day work week concept still popular or a pipe dream? When asked what would be most appealing in a prospective employer, 26% said a 4-day work week - only behind better health insurance (29%), flexible working hours (28%) and 401K contribution options (28%).
Nearly half of employers have adopted AI technology to replace or augment employee roles.
How often are employees leveraging AI tools at work?
Employees who use AI tools may have different philosophies about them than their companies do:
Hologram meetings may someday be a reality, as workers are interested in telepresence devices:
In 2024, has your employer added or increased the use of employee activity tracking or monitoring software?
Should it be a legal requirement for employers to disclose if they are using employee monitoring tools?
Conclusion
In the 8th edition of Owl Labs’ State of Hybrid Work report, we explore the latest work trends, the shifting tides in the workplace, and what to expect going forward. Flexibility is key, supportive managers are a must, and employees – maybe now, more than ever – are seeking a true work/life balance. Thank you for taking the time to read our report, and we look forward to continuing to bring you this research each year as your trusted, go-to data source for the ways we work.
Reach out to press@owllabs.com with any press inquiries and questions.
Appendix: Background + Demographics
Owl Labs surveyed 2,000 full-time workers in the United States, ages 18+, at companies with 2+ employees. This survey data was collected in July of 2024 with third-party data and research agency, Vitreous World.
Gender
Generation
Geographic Location
Caretaker role
Company size
Role
Worker type
About Owl Labs
Owl Labs is the first company to build AI-powered, 360-degree video conferencing solutions for hybrid organizations. Its connected device system and Owl Intelligence System software make meetings more inclusive and collaborative by leveling the playing field between remote and in-room participants. The Meeting Owl 4+ is the latest generation of the first WiFi-enabled, 360-degree camera, microphone, and speaker that automatically zooms in on whoever's speaking. Owl Labs has raised $47 million in funding and is based in Boston, with remote and hybrid employees all over the world. To learn more and explore the company's research on the State of Hybrid Work, visit owllabs.com.
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