New research undertaken by online learning platform Coursera has highlighted the ways in which changing work patterns are creating an increasingly challenging environment for managers. 

Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that levels of homeworking unsurprisingly peaked during the pandemic, when almost half of all working adults were working remotely. However, the latest available data indicates that homeworking is proving resilient to downward pressures such as the end of COVID restrictions, with more than four out of ten people still working away from the office at least once a week. 

Coursera’s survey of 1,000 people managers from eight countries, including the UK, found that this shift to remote and hybrid working has created difficulties for managers, with just over a third of respondents believing hybrid work has changed leadership for the worse. The most commonly cited challenge for managers in a hybrid world was found to be the impact on their own work-life boundaries. 

Other challenges highlighted by the research included: team morale and company culture being neglected; communicating with credibility; prioritising incorrectly, and micromanagement. Coursera concluded that the findings suggest ‘a growing sense of urgency within businesses recognising the immediate need to provide high-quality leadership training.’