Cultural Impact of Technology on Hybrid Work

Canva’s Hybrid Workforce Divide study reveals that US workers are struggling to foster participation across remote and in-person environments. Experts explain how hybrid workplaces need new technology to promote creative collaboration and bring people together.

As the U.S. emerges from the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, companies are trying to find a balance between remote and in-person work. A recent Canva-commissioned study of 1,000 full-time U.S. employees sheds light on the shifts that have taken place in workplaces and what they could mean long-term.

According to the data, 21% of employees will continue working fully remote following the pandemic, and 38% expect a mix of remote and in-office work. For the first time, fully in-person workplaces will be the exception rather than the rule, marking the most seismic shift to office culture in decades.

This offers incredible opportunities for employees, allowing them to choose a work environment that best meets their individual needs. But over three quarters (78%) agree that fostering inclusion and participation across remote and onsite employees is a challenge, meaning new processes and technologies are needed to make hybrid work a success.

Collaboration Tools for a New Reality

During the pandemic, most workplaces successfully migrated communications online, via video calls, email, instant messaging, and a host of other channels and tools. But despite the vast collection of technology at hand, more than three out of four (77%) employees feel work collaboration during the pandemic has been more challenging than before, and 84% say they need new and improved technologies to collaborate virtually.

The challenge of hybrid workplaces is facilitating effective communication between remote and office-based employees, without people struggling to manage an ever-growing list of new messages and notifications. This requires software that brings creation, and collaboration together in one place.

Tools need to be intuitive and easy to use too. For example, almost half (45%) of employees struggle when using presentation software — and across a whole company, that translates to a significant decrease in productivity.

Guy Kawasaki, Canva’s chief evangelist says, “Legacy software and tools were not designed to meet the demand of the hybrid workforce that is emerging after the pandemic. Today, online collaboration is at the core of almost all work and employees need tools that promote creativity, make collaboration easy, and bring people together.”

The Need to Engage People Online and In-Person

Alongside communication tools, 85% agree they need software that fosters creativity and engages the audience, to make remote work a success. Many are turning to presentations as the preferred form of communication with the data showing an increase of up to 10% in the next six months alone.

But in today’s world, where visual communication and interactivity are everywhere online, workplaces must go beyond dull and uninspiring slides to keep people’s attention. Canva’s research shows that 89% admit to frequently multitasking or becoming distracted when others are presenting. Some of the top distractions include reading emails and messages (42%), completing work (28%), scrolling through social media (28%), and even online shopping (25%).

Guy Kawasaki adds, “Much of the software used today was designed primarily for physical workplaces, with the core user interface showing little modernization in decades. Your word processor still brings up an A4 printable page, and most presentation software was built for one person in front of a boardroom. Now that hybrid work is here to stay, workplace applications should embrace the online world, and the ability to build dynamic, shareable content.”

For example, Canva is revamping the presentation format through a series of new features including Talking Presentations, which let presenters integrate short videos of themselves as playable elements within slides. Audiences can watch these at their leisure, making them perfect for hybrid and geographically distributed teams.

Dr. Michelle McQuaid, a psychologist and organizational change expert said, “One way to keep people engaged is by ensuring that people can feel connected, by asking a question, or showing gratitude. When we have a joyful connection with someone, this increases the pleasure hormone, oxytocin, immediately reducing anxiety and improving concentration and focus.”

Including Everyone Equally

Hybrid work has the incredible potential to make workplaces more inclusive and bring people together if done right.

Canva’s research indicates that whether someone is an introvert or extrovert plays a big role in their decision to work remotely or in a hybrid work environment. Introverts are 19% more likely to completely forgo a return to the office and employers must ensure that their new workplaces are set up in a way that no one gets overlooked.

Given that 65% of managers were shown to rank highly for extroversion, compared to just 36% of non-managers, this is one factor of hybrid work that must be proactively kept in check.

The good news is that 54% of employees think it has been easier to brainstorm, participate and collaborate on ideas and tasks when working remotely, meaning that technology can in fact help to communicate and contribute more easily. The key is making sure these benefits are maintained, as more people return to work, and in-person activity grows.

Dr. Michelle McQuaid explains, “Workplaces that have a diverse range of people, personalities and opinions are usually the most successful, with new ideas helping businesses to innovate and grow. For hybrid workplaces to succeed, it’s important that people have several ways to express themselves and make an impact, to avoid going unnoticed.”

Interestingly, hybrid environments that implement the right technology could in fact increase inclusivity, giving people more choice on how they engage and interact at work.

For instance, more than a quarter (28%) of introverts say their presentation skills have negatively affected their careers, compared to just 12% of extroverts, and while just 14% of white respondents say their presentation skills have negatively impacted their careers, that number climbs to 32% for people of color.

People have a different level of comfort with different communication styles and employers must build processes for all to be heard. While it’s important that those with strong speaking skills are given their chance to shine, those who prefer written communication can express their ideas in an asynchronous way, through features such as comments and real-time document collaboration.

Dr. McQuaid continued, “Workplace practices have generally worked in favor of those that are more outspoken, and this is often reflected in many rituals and technologies in today’s workplaces. However, there is no such thing as one size fits all, and hybrid work gives a great chance to bring new ways of communication that don’t revolve around being the center of attention.”

The Glue to Make Hybrid Work Stick

Businesses in the U.S. have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine work, as hybrid environments define the modern workplace. Most companies have been very successful in adapting during the pandemic, but as a mix of in-person and virtual environments become permanent, workplaces will need to adopt processes and technologies that further empower collaboration, participation and engagement. Those that do this right, will reap the benefits across employee happiness, diversity, inclusion, and innovation.