Despite it being four years on from the start of the global pandemic, companies are still struggling to manage hybrid working.

Hybrid work has become the overwhelming norm across industries which allow it, despite many CEOs and bosses trying to urge workers back to the office. A temporary holdfast from the pandemic, the phenomenon seems cemented in the working world.

However, a survey commissioned by Lucid Software of over 2,500 workers across the US, UK, Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands in April 2024 found that over half (54%) of organisations still struggle to balance employee productivity.

Further, 62% of firms continually changed their work policies in the past four years, oscillating from fully remote to in the office mandates, with hybrid policies peaking in between.

In conjunction with these shifting tides is a strong (47%) resistance to change from employees.

Employees also had complaints about hybrid models, with one in five (20%) contemplating quitting due to their organisation’s hybrid work policy, as well as the lack of tools to support their remote work.

In the UK specifically, employees struggled to feel supported in their hybrid working models, with about a quarter (27%) finding brainstorming and kick of sessions lacking in clear steps, and 37% finding the ownerships of tasks across their teams to be vague.

Two-fifths (41%) of UK respondents reported that projects were also failing as a result of their company’s work policies.

Despite concerns, only 38% of businesses had adopted digital collaboration tools, and less than that (29%) had offered collaboration training for workers to streamline the hybrid process.

Lucid’s study revealed a stark gap between the IT companies are investing in and what is actually providing benefit.

Nearly two in five (38%) of UK entry-level workers use at least three productivity applications, with the figure increasing for managers and executives. With only 29% being offered collaboration training, Lucid thinks that this is what has lead to 23% of UK workers saying they lack the right applications for success.

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Further, the number of applications necessary for hybrid work have overwhelmed and frustrated 35% of UK workers, culminating in a catch-22 cycle of quantity over quality.

“Despite the fact that companies have been practising hybrid work for years now, leaders continue to fall short in adequately equipping and training their employees with the essential digital tools and processes needed for success,” Jarom Chung, vice president of product management at Luci Software said.

“Specifically, the data demonstrates that effective visual collaboration is not just a luxury but a necessity in hybrid work, empowering employees to streamline vital information, collaborate seamlessly and maximise their productivity.”