The future of work is likely to be a mixture of work from home (WFH) and office work, according to sentiment analysis by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company. The company’s Filing Analytics platform notes that ‘WFH’, ‘remote working’ and ‘video conferencing’ continue to be prominent keywords in all company filings, and, while discussions around the future of work have been on the downtrend since Q4 2020, sentiments were up 12% in Q2* compared to Q1*.

Rinaldo Pereira, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The drop in mentions around the Future of Work is due to certain companies accepting a return to the office, while others are embracing the hybrid work style. Firms continue to be cautious in opening up entirely and are likely to view hybrid working as a prudent solution amid the rise of the Delta COVID variant.”

Pereira notes: “Microsoft’s sentiments around its video conferencing platform, Teams, grew ever so slightly in Q2 2021. In contrast, Zoom’s sentiments skyrocketed in Q2 2021* driven by positivity around its triple-digit Q1 2022** sales growth. Both Zoom and Microsoft expect to capitalize on the growing hybrid working trend via respective ‘rooms’ features.”

An analysis of GlobalData’s Survey database*** reveals that 30% of the employees are willing to go back to a daily office cycle. Further, 29% prefer weekly or monthly office visits, while 21% never want to visit the office. Adding on, 44% of the respondents also experienced an increase in productivity during WFH.

Pereira concludes: “Companies have realized the need to help employees strike a work-life balance via work flexibilities to maintain high levels of productivity. Sentiment growth around the future of work reflects the same. While the belief of ‘business at the office’ persists, the trend is shifting towards a hybrid workplace.”

* Indicates quarter for release of filing documents and not company-specific fiscal quarters

** Company fiscal quarter ended 30 April 2021

*** As of 8 July 2021