Upgraded tech stacks needed for the future of work: APAC organisations

Zoom has released Navigating the Future of Work: Global Perspectives on Hybrid Models and Technology, a survey* which has found that productivity is now the top priority for Asia-Pacific (APAC) organisations when it comes to work styles. 

Eighty-seven percent of leaders in APAC considered increasing productivity to be the biggest consideration when determining the best working style for their company, surpassing sentiment in North America (NA, 86%) and 81% in Western Europe.

Launched at Zoom's EX Summit 2024 in Asia Pacific, the study found that the majority of organisations in APAC are embracing flexible working arrangements, with 84% of organisations adopting either a hybrid (58%) or remote (26%) working model.

The study further found that employees feel most productive in hybrid settings, with 83% of employees in the region agreeing they get more work done in a hybrid/remote setting than in-office/onsite. Zoom noted that having the right technology in place to keep the workforce connected, regardless of workers’ physical locations is therefore critical.

Source: Zoom infographic (PDF). The most common workplace model in APAC is 'scheduled hybrid', where specific days are spent at remote locations and other days at the office, followed by 'flextime hybrid', where the employee divides their time between remote working and the office on a more variable schedule.

 Said Ricky Kapur, Head of Asia Pacific, Zoom: “Leaders today are faced with a new challenge of finding the best-fit hybrid model while keeping up with the evolving expectations of a multi-generational workforce and the impact of rapidly-advancing technologies like AI.” 

In order to prepare for the future of work, the study revealed that organisations need to improve their current tech stack. More than eight in 10 employees (81%) agree that the tools and technology their organisation currently uses for remote work needs improving, highest among the other regions surveyed (NA: 79%; Western Europe: 65%). 

Generative AI has already become a key tool to support employee productivity and overall experience in the hybrid era. Eighty-five percent of APAC leaders believe that generative AI has made their workforce more productive, and 69% of employees in the region strongly or slightly agree that “generative AI makes it easier to do my job. 

APAC organisations recorded the highest use of meeting transcripts/summarisation (53% in APAC, 40% in NA, and 38% in Western Europe), and chatbots (59% in APAC, 52% in NA, and 58% in Western Europ” 

However, significant barriers to generative AI adoption for employees in APAC still remain, as 70% believe that generative AI has a high learning curve. Over six in 10 (63%) are not yet comfortable with generative AI. More than half (55%) are concerned that generative AI will negatively impact their job/position. 

Moving forward, increased education on the benefits, use cases, and how they can mitigate risks must be done before teams can fully unlock the true value of AI for their workforce, Zoom said. 

“While our study shows that APAC leaders generally recognise the productivity benefits that adopting AI at work can bring to their teams, many are not utilising AI to their full potential. As organisations seek to reduce friction in the transition to hybrid ways of working, AI is a critical tool at their disposal to help employees collaborate better and feel more connected to each other. 

"Beyond direct productivity benefits, leaders should look toward exploring more AI use cases to engage, inform, and connect employees. This will be key to building and maintaining company culture amidst changing workplace dynamics,” added Kapur.

Ultimately, one of the keys to building a successful, future-ready workplace requires organisations means having the right technology in place that can adapt and evolve with the organisation at the same time, including AI tools that are both scalable and right-fit, Zoom observed.

*The Future of Work survey and the IT Leadership survey were global studies conducted by Reworked, a global community of employee experience, digital workplace, and talent management professionals, on behalf of Zoom. The companies surveyed more than 600 IT and C-suite leaders and nearly 1,900 knowledge workers across the globe including 604 in APAC, exploring their views on different workplace models, productivity levels across models, the impact of generative AI on work, and other topics related to the future of work. 

Markets in APAC included Australia, India, Japan, and Singapore. Data was collected online, all questions were required, and results were collected anonymously. Employer survey dates: April-May 2024; Respondents: 624. Employee survey dates: April-May 2024; Respondents: 1,870.