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Microsoft recently released the 2022 Work Trend Index, the report pointed out that more and more people are experiencing the benefits of flexible work, in order to help leaders cope with the uncertainty of hybrid work model (Hybrid Work Model, that is, part of the time to work from home, part of the time to work at the company), Microsoft continues to predict significant changes in the job market, and how people define the role and value of work in life.
Image source: Microsoft
Data for the Work Trend Index was collected by market research firm Edelman Data x Intelligence among 31,102 full-time employees or self-employed people in 31 markets between January 7, 2022 and February 16, 2022. It surveyed at least 1,000 full-time employees in each market. The results reflect the global average.
Mixed working modes have become a new trend in the office
People are now more likely to put health and well-being above work than they did before the pandemic.
In the coming year, many hybrid employees (51 percent) said they would consider using remote work instead, and even more (57 percent) said they would consider switching to a mixed work model. At the same time, 43 percent of employees are somewhat or highly likely to consider changing jobs in the coming year, up slightly from 41 percent in the same period last year. More than half (52 percent) of Gen Z and millennials combined are likely to change jobs in the coming year, up 3 percentage points from last year. According to Microsoft, the hybrid work model has great potential in the future.
Young people are more receptive to metacosmities
Microsoft's 2022 Work Trend Index briefly discusses the possible future of telepresence work in the metaverse. The reasoning is similar to what Zuckerberg has been preaching for years: Microsoft researcher Mar Gonzalez Franco explains that with avatars, people will have the opportunity to feel close in the virtual space and interact with each other more naturally, just as they would in reality.
Among the young target groups of about 50 percent of respondents, they prefer to use metaverse technology at work, but about 30 percent are unfamiliar with Metaverse or refuse to participate:
52% of employees are ready to use digital immersive spaces in the metaverse for meetings or team activities next year.
47% of employees are willing to appear as avatars in next year's meetings.
51% of Gen Z and 48% of millennials believe they will work on metaverses within the next two years.
16% of employees say they will never work in the metaverse.
13% of employees said they didn't know what the term "metaverse" meant.
Mar Gonzalez Franco, principal investigator at Microsoft Research, said: "Our early research showed that people feel more engaged, closer, and even more comfortable when using avatars in meetings than audio-only calls. ”
Microsoft notes that it's not only in their best interest to enable people to perform at their best, but also in the business. For hybrid work to work, leaders need to rethink the role of the office, rebuild social capital for a digitally first workforce, and pioneer new practices for sustainable, flexible work.
Microsoft founder and former CEO Bill Gates predicted at the end of 2021 that by the end of 2023 or 2024, "most virtual meetings" will take place in the metacosm, which he defines as a 3D space with virtual avatars.
Source: Microsoft, Mixed