Dive Brief:

• When asked about workplace rapport, 69% of respondents to an Enboarder survey said they "don't feel a very strong sense of connection" to their co-workers. Enboarder surveyed 2,000 full-time employees for the report.
• Almost three-quarters of respondents said collaboration requires much more effort now than it did prior to March 2020, according to the Nov. 1 results.
• In a similar vein, the work FOMO is real: 66% of hybrid workers surveyed said they feel like they're missing out on collaborative opportunities when they're not working in the office.

Dive Insight:

One troubling insight is that, according to many Enboarder respondents, HR's problem-solving may be to no avail. Two-thirds of respondents said they have not changed their behavior or opinions because of an HR initiative in the past 12 months. 

Many employees are feeling battered by the demands of digital work. Generally speaking, 54% of workers surveyed said they feel more overwhelmed by the number of work-related notifications since March 2020. The rate is higher for managers surveyed, with 63% of respondents saying they're overwhelmed. 

Likewise, 46% of respondents told Enboarder that they're using nights and weekends to think strategically about work because they're overwhelmed. Again, managers surveyed indicated great distress too, with 55% of team leaders saying they use post-work time for workflow strategy-building. Similarly, 60% of managers surveyed said information overload keeps them from doing their jobs efficiently.

No matter the workforce challenges, companies are widely adopting hybrid work. Forrester predicts seven in 10 companies will grow their "anywhere-work" program post-pandemic. Big tech companies too are leaning toward hybrid work, redesigning company campuses or making team-by-team decisions on work locations. 

That said, companies highlight the benefits of office collaboration and the energy from in-person connection. The unanswered question is one of frequency: Will employees meet in person on a daily, weekly, monthly or alternative cadence? 

Employees are primed to do their best work when connection is prioritized: 82% of respondents said they're more motivated to work on projects or programs when they feel close to their team and 84% said they find it easier to do their best work when they feel close to their team.

Building camaraderie and seamless workflows remotely is a tough task. While there are no easy answers, HR professionals will have to prioritize communication and experimentation, experts say.