According to a survey by Barco, a global leader in visualization and collaboration solutions, a third of the workforce is keen on their organizations investing in innovative video-conferencing technology to enable hybrid workstyles.

Survey results revealed that over half (77%) of Indian white-collar workers find remote work less enjoyable, with 49% stating they miss the social life they had in their office space and feel left out while working from home. With an emerging hybrid future of work, the scales are tipping in favour of a longing to return to work.

Commenting on the findings, Rajiv Bhalla, Managing Director, Barco Electronic Systems Pvt. Ltd. said, “Our new research depicts that the future of the workplace is not remote, but hybrid. While Indians value family time greatly, with 65% of the respondents stating this as a major benefit of working from home, they are now ready to head back to office.”

The survey also brought out some statistics on employee expectations from workplace technology, specific to workplace meetings. More than half of the workforce wants to see meeting room technology designed for more usability and connectivity in the coming year. Additionally, 56% of the global workforce is awaiting apps that enable users to join a video conference in one click. 67% of the workforce also expressed the need for Artificial Intelligence to provide feedback on participants and their engagement in meetings.

Speaking of the need to invest in technology, Lieven Bertier, Segment Marketing Director Workplace, Barco, said, “To survive, rebuild and eventually thrive again in the post-pandemic world, businesses will need to invest in new technologies, redesign or at least reconfigure their office spaces and give their employees the tools they need to work in the best way possible, no matter where they are located or how they choose to connect.”

A majority of the employees all across the globe are keen to return to work post-COVD.  However, the current circumstances will allow only for a hybrid workplace, with a significant number of employees continuing to work from home. Such a distributed workforce will yet again need technology interventions that enable workflows across a hybrid workplace.