Two-thirds of employees prefer hybrid work

“People have had a reckoning with what work-life balance means to them and they’re coming into their workplace environments with a stronger sense of what they’re entitled to,” Zadow says. “They want control in terms of how they get their work done, which has disrupted HR policies and made it more challenging for HR leaders. That’s why it’s vital to re-ground HR policies with the idea of some level of personalization and flexibility, and then build from that starting point in a way that HR leaders haven’t previously been instructed.”

It’s not just HR that needs to adapt – all company leaders need to reconfigure their expectations and be willing to accommodate employees’ needs.

Let’s face it, climbing up the company ladder requires an entirely different approach these days. A boss walking through the office, stopping by their subordinate’s cubicle and patting them on the back for a job well done is old-school. Now that hybrid work is all the rage, that type of interaction, as well as the perception that a model employee is in the office from 9-to-5, is as antiquated as the fax machine.

“Leaders have to realize what got them to their leadership role won’t be the thing that gets the next generation of people to their leadership role,” Zadow says. “They must adjust their management style and methods of engagement to help others rise up to their full potential.”