In a survey conducted by software and hardware company Logitech, Kiwis have proved that hybrid working is here to stay, however questions rise on whether it has truly made working ‘smarter’.

Logitech and Antenna’s recent survey looked at over 1500 office workers across both New Zealand and Australia and found that 69 percent or two in three Kiwis are hybrid workers.

This result is 16 percent more than our Australian counterparts who came in at 53 percent.

Across the world, the global average for hybrid working is 37 percent, which New Zealand has nearly doubled.

General Manager of Logitech New Zealand, Fabien Degueldre says that hybrid working as come into effect to provide individuals with flexibility for work-life balance that traditional work environments could not provide.

“The modern workplace has been reimagined beyond a fixed desk in a corporate cubicle. Kiwis now spend on average two days a week working from home, at coworking spaces, cafés and out-and-about,” he says.

“Hybrid working is not to be confused with straight ‘working from home’, which overall is on the decline globally. Hybrid is on the up, where working across multiple spaces serves different purposes at different times.”

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More than half of participants say they feel more relaxed working from home but also feel enjoyed the connection to colleagues where collaboration is present when working in the office.

The survey also found that Kiwis work on average two more hours than Aussies a week and 71 percent of Gen Z embrace hybrid working.

Aussies are also two times more likely to work from their garden while only one in 10 Kiwis will, and 12 percent of Kiwis say they work from a bar verses nine percent of Aussies do. Fifty-one percent of women work from a café compared to 23 percent of men.

However, 83 percent of Kiwis say they are not satisfied with their work from home setup as they find it hard to concentrate, less comfortable and less productive.

The survey revealed that many Kiwis are not working at traditional permanent desk whether that be at home or office.

“The number one barrier to optimising hybrid working lies in the tools of the trade, with respondents willing to double their current remote hours if they had a smarter set up,” he adds.

“Kiwis are leveraging the hybrid working model to choose their preferred work location that best aligns with their needs.”

One in three Kiwis have stated they like to switch up locations, even within the same house, prompting Logitech to address these challenges with its new product line.

“The survey data backs up what we predicted – that one size doesn’t fit all, and people want the tools to work comfortably from anywhere,” says Degueldre.