New Study Reveals Boost in Employee Productivity and Well-Being Among Companies That Foster a ‘Connected Culture’ in Work from Anywhere Environment

RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG), a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications, collaboration, and contact center solutions, today released the findings of its Connected Culture Report, a new study that explores how remote work impacts employee productivity and well-being. According to the report, employees working for companies that foster a “connected culture” are twice as likely to be productive when working from anywhere, than those that don’t. The study defines companies that foster a “connected culture” as those that blend effective technology that helps teams stay connected with a commitment to supporting work/life balance, and frequent opportunities for people to interact with one another. As positive news about a vaccine emerges, the survey findings reiterate the important role employers play in building a culture that encourages employee productivity and well-being -- key factors for an engaged remote and hybrid workforce working from anywhere.

Conducted by CITE Research in partnership with Kaleido Insights, the study polled 4,000 knowledge workers across four countries about their levels of productivity, well-being, and connection to team members following moving to remote work with the onset of the pandemic.

The overall takeaway: Embracing a connected culture leads to significant gains in employee productivity and well-being.

Key findings:

• Employees who feel more connected are more productive: of those employees who self-reported as more productive, 71% reported feeling more connected to their colleagues than before the pandemic, compared to 22% who reported feeling the same or less connected to their colleagues.
• Of those who reported working at companies that foster a connected culture, 34% say they're more productive working from home. By contrast, among those whose employers do not foster a connected culture, only 15% say they were more productive working from home.
• Employees at companies that promote a connected culture cite better physical (58%) and emotional well-being (55%) than employees of companies that do not promote a connected culture (50% and 48%, respectively).
• Employees referenced several company actions that helped them feel more connected. The most common actions cited by employees include: frequent employee communication (50%), enhanced collaboration tools (26%), virtual happy hours (24%), peer chats (22%), and group video games (15%).

“While many companies have endured the pandemic admirably, the nerves of the collective global workforce have begun to fray. This study confirms what we suspected: connecting individuals with each other leads to better emotional well-being and productivity,” said corporate innovation expert Jeremiah Owyang, who is also a co-founder of Kaleido Insights. “Our research uncovered some groups that are not thriving in this remote work environment as well. These findings are useful in shining a light on potential blindspots for some organizations. Beyond establishing a connected culture, employers need to recognize the gaps and take steps to ensure all their employees feel supported and productive.”