Bosses, future of work experts have a word of advice: culture and productivity dont happen in the office.
So finds Future Forums latest Pulse survey, released Wednesday. A consortium under the Slack umbrella, The Future Forum has continuously run surveys of 10,000 desk workers around the world each quarter since summer 2020, and each installment has shown that flexible work positively impacts productivity, builds worker-boss trust, and reduces employee turnover.
The latest findings reveal that flexible workers were 57% more likely than fully in-person workers to say their company culture has improved since that flexible policy was implemented. Thats no coincidence; they said flexible work policies are the primary impetus for workplace culture improvementdespite the fact that bosses seem dead set on believing culture itself is reason enough to force an office return.
Executives say, because I grew up in a certain way and have certain experiences of workplace culture, I feel uncomfortable doing other things working going forward, Brian Elliott, executive leader of Future Forum, tells Fortune. Executives are worried about retaining culture with flexible work, but our data shows a completely different story.
Culture can be cultivated entirely virtually, Elliott says, but it really comes down to trust at the end of the daygive people the flexibility to work where and when theyre at their best.
The worst mistake bosses can make is focusing on presenteeism-related metrics, like who shows up early or stays late, rather than on outcomes. Thats an example of proximity biaspreferential treatment for the people you see most oftenand it usually comes at the expense of minority and parent workers.
But executives are under immense pressure to chart an agreeable path forward, he adds. Theyre trying to figure out whats going on, but dont feel like they have their finger on the pulse. Theyre coming back to an office thats largely empty, and thats making them apprehensive, he adds. But culture is happening, its just happening on digital tools.
Workers are more productive from home, too
The Future Forums findings are also proof that executives concerns about declining productivity are unfounded. When compared to workers with no ability to shift their schedules, respondents with full schedule flexibility report 39% higher productivity and 64% greater ability to focus.
If youre an executive worried about productivity, stop sweating how many days people are coming in and start sweating the meetings running amok in your organization, Elliott says.
The most productive, focused workers likely have one thing in common: theyre not overworked. That, too, ties back to flexibility. More than half (53%) of workers dissatisfied with their companys flexible work plan reported being burned out, compared to just 37% among workers who are satisfied.
The lack of ability to pick ones own hours dramatically worsens retention, the survey found; workers with no schedule flexibility were 2.5 times as likely to report definitely looking for a new job this year.
Considering that flexibility overall seems to boost worker performance, happiness, and retention, bosses might want to forgo the return to office debate. Going forward, Elliott says, I would love to see us talk more about how people spend and use their time and less time talking about their place.
Instead of looking for definites, Elliott encourages a fundamental shift that focuses less on mandates and policies, and more on purpose and enablement. Everyone keeps thinking, three months from now everything will be solved, he says. But youre better off just learning as you go.
Just ensure youre communicating your plans to your peopleworkers at companies that are transparent about their future-of-work plans are nine times as satisfied as those at companies who keep their plans close to the chest.
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