Employees who are working remotely as well as from the office have a stronger connection and a positive approach towards the workplace environment, according to the  ADP Research Institute's recently released study, "On-site, Remote or Hybrid: Employee Sentiment On The Workplace".

The study surveyed cver 9,000 full-time US workers who work in a team and have not changed jobs during the pandemic, to gather data on their perception with regard to work location and its evaluation. Speaking on the outcomes of the study, Nela Richardson, Chief Economist, ADP said, "For our latest study, we set out to understand employees' perspectives of on-site, remote and hybrid work so employers can decide how to move forward. Though there are perceived opportunities and challenges for both remote work and on-site work, the strongest findings reveal the answer lies somewhere in the middle, with a hybrid arrangement."

On-site work: connection and visibility

The majority of workers tend to have more spontaneous conversations, connect deeply and collaborate more efficiently while working on-site.

On-site work also caters to visibility and a transparent work approach. Over 59% of employers prefer themselves as well as their employees to work from the office. Employees feel the need to be noticed by their respective employers to have better opportunities for job success, promotions and professional growth.

On the other hand, across professional and IT sectors, on-site employees are less engaged in work meetings. Only 15% report that they are engaged, compared to 25% of employees working remotely.

And despite the upside of personal connection and deep communications , the study also found that on-site workers tend to indulge in work gossip, hampering productivity and supportiveness

Remote work: productivity and supportiveness

Despite concerns about work-life balance, employees are seen to give more hours when working remotely, compared to on-site workers.

They are also surprisingly good at collaboration. More than half of the employees, that is 62%-66%, working remotely say their team is collaborative and supportive compared to on-site workers, that is 47%-59%. This may be due to the lower level of physical interaction which pushes the remote work model to be more focused and work-oriented.

Interestingly, the majority of remote employees, except in the Information technology sector, think that innovation is encouraged more while working remotely compared to the office. Their reasoning is that one gets more time to think and more space, when working from home, creating a higher possibility of innovation.

General preference for the hybrid model

Overall, the report shows that both the work models have their benefits and drawbacks, including industry specific. The solution lies between the two: the hybrid work model. As per the statistics, the majority of employees prefer the hybrid model as it brings about stronger connections, collaboration, affirmative work approach, positive workplace environment, positive outlook on managers and employers, and better career opportunities.