Using research to unlock the potential of hybrid work

Just last month, we released our 2022 Annual Work Trend Index to better understand how work has changed over the past two years. The biggest takeaway is clear: we’re not the same people that went home to work in early 2020. The collective experience of the past two years has left a lasting imprint, and there’s no going back. The data shows that flexibility and well-being are non-negotiable for employees.

As organizations and leaders navigate this new world of work in an uncertain macro-economic environment, Microsoft Research—our team of researchers, scientists, and subject matter experts around the world—continues to study how work is changing and ask big questions: why is rebuilding social capital important? What aspects of work benefit most from in-person interaction? Why will (and won’t) people come to the office? And importantly, how do we make hybrid work work?

The report Microsoft Research published on May 2, 2022, is a compilation of Microsoft and third-party research from around the globe that looks at the near-term challenges and opportunities of hybrid work and the broader societal implications.  

No one can predict the future, but we will continue to be data-driven and take a learn-it-all approach, using research to fuel product innovation for customers. We believe hybrid work has the potential to unlock human potential for Microsoft and organizations around the world and create a brighter future of work for everyone.