G2 Introduces New Category for Hybrid Enablement Software

The chaos of the last three years has transformed the modern workplace. From working fully at home to having to go into the office a few times a week, workers have to change their habits developed over the past three years. 

The current challenge for employees is finding the correct tools to manage hybrid schedules, where their week is split between working from the office and remotely. On the other hand, employers are trying to find a solution for managing hybrid work to increase office space usage, handle employees’ remote and hybrid schedules, and build team morale to improve employee satisfaction.

Let’s look at this new hybrid work environment and explore why G2 has created a new category for Hybrid Enablement Software.

Hybrid enablement: Meeting the demands of the new workplace 

According to Pew Research Center, a national survey of full-time employees conducted in February, 2023, 41% of workers with jobs that can be performed remotely have adopted a hybrid, or flex, schedule. This is an increase from the reported 35% in January, 2022. The survey also shows that among hybrid workers, 59% are required to work from the office three or more days a week, while 63% are provided additional flexibility.

The widespread implementation of flexible work has increased the need for software to manage hybrid teams' logistics and requirements. This is where hybrid enablement software comes in. 

While some companies remain remote-first, more and more are shifting to this hybrid approach. As a result, we’ve seen an influx of software tools catered to the modern hybrid workplace. Keep reading to learn more about how G2 has adapted to this emerging software space.

Hybrid enablement on G2

Hybrid Enablement was added to G2 in February of 2023 to fill a gap in the collaboration taxonomy for technology that specifically works to help employees navigate hybrid work environments. This comes when interest in space management and hybrid software has grown, making it clear that the market is changing to favor software that enables hybrid work. Many industries that don’t need employees in the office full time are accommodating employee wishes and implementing a hybrid work schedule.

In the graph above, Space Management and Hybrid Enablement combined have seen an interesting trajectory regarding category page view growth. There was a lot of interest from buyers in December and March; negative growth in November, January, and February; and so far have seen no growth in April. 

Given that there have been months where there has been a spike in interest, it's likely that there is still interest in hybrid technology. The above data may be related to office trends, such as when more employees are in the office or when employers try incentivizing employees to work from the office. The early months of the new year are usually when people travel and are out of the office for personal time off or business-related trips.

Using software to strike the perfect balance between the office and home

We predict as the year progresses, employers will continue to incentivize employees to come into the office more. Employees want in-person social interactions and to split time between home and the office. Using hybrid technology helps organizations implement hybrid policies and empower employees to set work schedules that meet their lifestyle needs. 

As a result, hybrid enablement software encourages more employees to visit the office to collaborate and socialize with colleagues in a way that works best for them. This shows that having hybrid enablement software at your company can significantly improve the satisfaction of employees as well as the communication styles of the employers. Ultimately, this creates a more cohesive work environment that will enhance the work-life balance of everyone involved.

This article is co-written by Marina Schlosser, G2 research analyst, office management, vertical categories. 

Edited by Shanti S Nair