Study reveals hybrid, remote work challenges

Surveying 400 employees across the financial industry and the public sector, the report identified multiple areas gaps in organization’s readiness to support hybrid and remote employees, ranging from a lack of security policies and oversight to disconnects on employees preferred work schedules and connection to other team members as well as the organization. The report, “Hybrid and Remote Employee Management 2022: Confronting Security, Operations, and Culture in Regulated Industries,” is available for download at https://www.ninjaone.com/hybrid-remote-work-report/  

"The results of our study show that hybrid working models are definitely preferred by employees," summarizes NinjaOne CEO Sal Sferlazza. "At the same time, however, a significant proportion of companies still have some catching up to do in terms of implementation. Uniform guidelines and a secure IT infrastructure must form the foundation, but a unified IT management platform, such as NinjaOne's, can fully support IT teams and service providers adapting to a remote-first world."

Employees Want Remote Work Despite Executives’ Push for a Return to the Office

Recent headlines point to a strong desire among upper management for a return to the office, but according to this new report, most employees want to continue working from home, at least part of the time. More than 90% of employees NinjaOne surveyed said they wanted to work from home at least one day a week, with a quarter saying fully remote work was their preference. This divide is already playing out in the midst of The Great Resignation and record levels of staff leaving their jobs for opportunities that better match their work preferences.

While many organizations have instituted changes, such as investing in home-based IT tools for remote employees or adopting new software to support remote teams, many organizations appear to be taking a wait-and-see approach due to limited investment in developing a remote-first strategy. 

This dichotomy between employee preferences for remote work and organization’s investments in making that possible will represent a challenge that CIOs and IT leaders must contend with.

Communication Among Remote and Hybrid Teams is Strong, But Needs Management

41% of employees say that new communication channels have made them feel more connected to their co-workers, with about 35% saying they communicate more frequently, too. These are positive signs that remote employees are still able to build bonds and relationships, but organizations should be more actively engaged in managing the tools and devices used to collaborate. 

Only about half of organizations said that IT managed their communication channels. That responsibility was pushed to others, like department heads or even individual employees, and it represents a major cybersecurity oversight as end-users are much less likely to maintain and patch software. Bringing communication and collaboration channels under management by the IT team should be a top priority for organizations.

Lack of Security Policies, Employee Oversight Contributes to Widening Gaps

Security is a challenging job that requires specialized skills, tools, and training to do. Unfortunately, 45% of organizations rely on department leaders or employees themselves to manage the security updates on their devices and applications. In today’s competitive business environment, the efficient and secure management of IT resources and employees is a necessity. By outsourcing this task to employees themselves, organizations wade into risk that’s easy to avoid.

Poor security management also extends to data privacy and security guidelines, which are incomplete or missing for almost half of organizations. Adding to the security concerns, nearly 40% of respondents hadn’t had a security training session for 6 months or longer, with 14% having never had security training. Employees asked to manage their own security and IT needs must be properly supported if they hope to succeed, and based on these findings organizations could be doing more.

Productivity Gains Come at the Expense of Employees Free Time

48% of employees say working remotely made them more productive, but at the same time 40% also say they are working more hours. This finding echoes recent headlines suggesting that employees are working longer hours while home. Burnout and supporting employee mental health are important considerations for an employee's decision to stay with a company, and should rise as a priority among leaders.

Unified Remote Management Tools are Needed to Help Hybrid and Remote Teams Thrive

As the trend toward hybrid work models continues unabated, many companies are clearly struggling to efficiently and securely manage remote workforces and a plethora of new devices and applications. To cut through this noise and take back control, CIOs and IT leaders should look towards simplifying their IT tools stack with unified tools that balance ease of use and power. 

NinjaOne’s unified IT management platform has become an essential tool in the modern CIO’s toolkit thanks to its combined endpoint management, cloud backup, patch management, and IT support capabilities. As a cloud-first solution, NinjaOne was designed to support any device from anywhere.