Covid-driven rise of next-gen work personas – from nesters to nomads

Hybrid working has created a new generation of post-pandemic employees — the connectors, nesters, nomads, adaptors and stoics. See where you fit in.

Hybrid working has created a new generation of post-Covid employees – the connectors, nesters, nomads, adaptors and stoics – and their arrival is set to shake up Australian office life and working preferences.

New research by management consultancy Bendelta unearthed the five personas after surveying more than 1000 employees from leading businesses.

Chief potential officer Anthony Mitchell says the surveyed employees had differing feelings about a return to full-time office work after being exposed to working from home and hybrid models.

“It was interesting how they have self-diagnosed themselves. Five years ago they wouldn’t have had enough working experiences to know where they are most comfortable working,” Mitchell says.

But he believes understanding these personas will define how organisations operate in 2022.

CONNECTORS: Like working in the office, in-person relationships and the energy they get from working in an office environment. They find virtual meetings tiring, and feel disconnected from their team if they work remotely for long periods of time.

NESTERS: Like working from home and feel they’re more productive when working remotely. They don’t enjoy the energy of the office and don’t believe it contributes to work-life balance.

NOMADS: Prefer working remotely in spaces other than their home, and don’t find remote working a hindrance to accessing and sharing information or collaborating with colleagues. They don’t crave in-person connections with colleagues, and would prefer more flexibility to choose how and where they work.

ADAPTORS: Tend to work in the office, enjoy the connections with colleagues in an office environment, and prefer the technology that’s available in the office versus other workspaces. Adaptors feel their manager or team expects them to work from the office, and believe they don’t have flexibility to choose where they work.

STOICS: Tend to choose to work from home, yet feel they are no more productive or comfortable working remotely as anywhere else. They do not enjoy the office energy or developing in-person relationships with colleagues, but they also feel disconnected when working remotely.

Working from home and hybrid work arrangements are here to stay, according to the worksona research. Picture: iStock

MANDATING DAYS

Mitchell says each organisation needs to understand the makeup of their workforce before considering mandating a minimum number of days in the office or ruling out hybrid or working from home.

“The personas are really helpful. If an organisation has 60 per cent Adaptors and 30 per cent of others, then being back in the office won’t be a problem. For other companies with a different makeup, it might be more of an issue.”

He says the paradigm has shifted as workers make more decisions about where they will work, such as out of an interstate hotel on Friday before a weekend away or at home on a wet day instead of commuting.

Jessica Hall from Bendelta.

Jessica Hall, Bendelta’s head of “worksona”, tested herself and found she fitted two persona profiles.

“I’m predominantly a Nester, but also part Connector. Most people aren’t any one persona completely, and it can change over time,” she says.

“I am definitely more productive and comfortable at home. I have my own study and a great set-up, my work has the right technology to make working from anywhere successful, and most importantly a culture of trust.

“There is a misconception that collaboration and innovation work best in-person, but that hasn’t always been my experience.

I work closely with someone who tends to work late at night so we often collaborate asynchronously. I love waking up to read what brilliant ideas he’s had overnight. It works really well for us.

“Virtual collaboration can also allow employees to have a say – those who like to mull over things for a little while, or don’t always feel comfortable contributing ideas in a high-energy, in-person innovation session.”

HYBRID HERE TO STAY

The personas were developed as part of a new analytics tool called worksona to help guide workplaces. Its inaugural survey also reveals our fatigue after years of working from home with 37 per cent of respondents finding virtual meetings tiring and 35 per cent stating they felt disconnected from colleagues.

But hybrid working is here to stay, with 81 per cent of employees happy to continue working remotely, and 69 per cent wanting to work no more than two days in the office each week. The majority of employees do not believe that the number of days they can work remotely should be mandated (70 per cent).

Bendelta Chief Potential Officer Anthony Mitchell.

DIGITAL SURVEILLANCE

The worksona survey finds while we’re digitally equipped to work from anywhere, we are still mostly unconvinced about our bosses using digital surveillance.

The research reveals most employees (90 per cent) have access to the technology they need to be productive and believe their company’s technologies are secure (91 per cent), while 29 per cent would be comfortable having their activity monitored using digital surveillance.

Mitchell was surprised by this last figure.

“I would have expected 5 per cent before we did the research. The people who expressed the high willingness tended to really trust their employer. That makes sense because you are saying you’d be okay with it because you know they wouldn’t be using it in any Machiavellian or destructive way.”

Mitchell says digital surveillance could also have positive outcomes for staff around cybersafety and ensuring they don’t work excessive hours at home.

Originally published as Covid-driven rise of next-gen work personas – from nesters to nomads