Australians frustrated with remote work tools

Nearly half (48%) of Australian employees wish to return to the office full-time post-pandemic, and a further 42% prefer to embrace a hybrid work model, according to research from Adaptavist.

The company’s 2021 Digital Etiquette study found that only 10% of workers want to work remotely full-time.

Even as demand for a hybrid work model increases, employees are increasingly frustrated with the tools and technologies they are using to navigate working remotely, the research found.

More than half (58%) of Australian respondents reported spending half an hour or more each day looking for information they need to do their job, such as searching emails or chat conversations.

In addition, 48% feel their organisation has too many software requirements, with similar proportions believing that there are too many tools that perform the same function, and that they spend too much time navigating between tools to perform their job.

Meanwhile, nearly three in four (72%) Australian employees report sometimes or always feeling invisible to their colleagues while using digital platforms to interact, 35% miss working side by side with their team and a quarter miss the ability to celebrate successes or special events in person.

“What this year’s Digital Etiquette Study clearly demonstrates is that while hybrid working is the way forward, there is still work to be done to maximise the opportunities that hybrid working can bring to both employees and businesses alike,” Adaptavist CEO Simon Haighton-Williams said.

“A key learning from the study is that companies need to communicate and engage more with employees, to better understand how work has changed and what employees need to be more effective and ultimately happier in their work.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/vadim_key