Microsoft released its Work Trend Index report which studied 30,000 people across 31 countries along with data from Microsoft 365 and LinkedIn. Specifically, Microsoft looked at what we all learned from the great remote work experiment of 2020 and how that will apply as we begin the great hybrid work experiment. Hybrid work involves being in the office sometimes and working remotely at other times, as well as having some folks working fully remote and others fully in the office. You should definitely read the full study, but here are five things to know about the hybrid workplace.

SEE: Return to work: What the new normal will look like post-pandemic (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

1. Watch out for worker disconnects. Forty-six percent of workers surveyed said their employer doesn’t help with remote work expenses, and 37% say their company is asking too much of them right now. If you feel satisfied and thriving, you’re probably a millennial or Gen X male. If you feel you’re just surviving or struggling you’re probably Gen Z, a woman or a frontline worker.
2. Your youngest workers need more help making meaningful connections. Gen Z was found to struggle the most with engaging in meetings and calls in the past year. Pay a little extra attention in helping your 18-25-year-old employees be heard.
3. You’ll need to widen the network. This time, I mean the personal network, not the bandwidth. While immediate teams grew closer when working remote, they became more siloed from other teams in the same workplace and that reduced innovation. When lockdowns eased in places like New Zealand and South Korea, even hybrid workplaces saw those siloes start to fall.
4. Don’t lose the authenticity. Seeing people’s home offices, kitchens, children and pets actually helped improve productivity. Microsoft said 30% of people say they’re more likely to be their real self at work in the future and 31% feel less embarrassed if their home life shows up in their work somehow. People who felt closer to their coworkers reported higher productivity.
5. You have a wider pool of talent. You may not want to restrict that. The switch to remote work has opened up jobs to new applicants. An analysis of the LinkedIn Economic Graph shows women, Gen Z and those without a graduate degree as the groups most likely to apply for remote jobs.

There are a lot more insights in the Microsoft report, but as we face another changing workplace situation, this kind of data can hopefully help you meet the new challenges.

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