Work trends digest: Twitter layoffs, Meta lets go of 11,000 employees, Gallup’s new data on hybrid work

There’s no sugarcoating it: last week was crazy for big tech. We started it by discussing Twitter’s history-making lay-off: the company shed half of its workforce literally overnight. By midweek, bad news kept coming, as Mark Zuckerberg announced that Meta was letting go of 11,000 employees across multiple global sites. Even if you still have a job, staying calm and focused is not easy amidst the economic downturn. To help leaders have a way forward and keep bringing forth positive impact, we prepared a list of most helpful and insightful pieces on emerging work trends. 

Layoffs

Meta laying off more than 11,000 employees | CNBC

On Wednesday, Zuckerberg made an announcement that Meta is reducing its staff by 13%. The company laid off 11,000 employees across multiple departments. Recruiting was among the most severely affected divisions considering the company’s hiring freeze. 

Salesforce confirms it has laid off hundreds of employees | TechCrunch

Last week, Salesforce joined the crowd of corporations marching to the beat of the layoff drum. The layoff was not anywhere near as big as the workforce reductions at Twitter or Facebook – nevertheless, it impacted hundreds of the company’s employees. According to Salesforce, cost-cutting was one of the organization’s priorities, as it was aiming for $50 billion in revenue by 2026. 

Citigroup Cuts Dozens of Jobs Across Investment-Banking Unit | Bloomberg

The bank has trimmed its global investment banking division, including its capital markets team. While workforce reduction ahead of the bonus season is an unusual move for Wall Street giants, it marks the turning point for Citigroup that had previously been hiring more aggressively than any of its rivals. 

Twitter sued for mass layoffs | Reuters

The company’s laid off employees argue that they did not get an advance notice the yway they should have according to California state laws. Twitter’s staff has reportedly filed a lawsuit in a San Francisco Federal Court. 

Remote and hybrid work

Coordinating Hybrid Work Schedules — 5 Important Findings | Gallup

By the end of the year, most companies had a few months to experiment with hybrid work and collect data about what is and is not working. Gallup has summarized the general experience in 5 fundamental insights hybrid leaders should take into account when optimizing work policies.

How work gossip has changed in the age of hybrid work | FastCompany

Providing a safe haven from office drama was one of the benefits of remote work. However, now that companies double down on hybrid arrangements, office gossip is evolving and, in some ways, getting worse than it has ever been. The creation of “us vs them” mentality, emergence of subcultures, and readiness to make false assumptions about remote employees are signature traits of the new environment. 

Remote and hybrid work could help heal the planet | Adobe Blog

In a last-ditch effort to not cross the 1.5 degree threshold and reverse grim climate forecasts, companies are exploring new sustainability strategies. While some of them come with a hefty green premium, others can go as far as to promote cost reductions. Remote work falls in the latter camp and can be used to get companies one step closer to zero emissions. 

The future of the office is changing: here’s how to improve the occupant experience | World Economic Forum

Hybrid work has heavily impacted office occupancy – in September 2022, only 47.5% of office space is used for work. As the result, companies need to rethink the way they used their space and find new incentives to encourage employees to come in. 

Workplace trends

Frontline Work When Everyone Is Angry | HBR

The stress of the pandemic that we have barely put past us and the pains of the recession are taxing on the economy but they are especially difficult on those working on the frontlines. From healthcare workers to customer service professionals, frontline workers are pushed to the edge by anxious, impatient, and stressed clients. As a team leader, here’s how you can intervene. 

How CEOs can protect their companies from short-term risks while preparing for the future | Fortune

A successful leader has to be good at switching between a bird’s-eye view of the organization and the market and a focus on details that help protect the company from short-term threats. Balancing between zooming in and out is tricky – here’s how leaders can practice both skills. 

How ‘non-verbal communication’ is going digital | BBC Worklife

Most of us have a broad experience of interacting with people in physical environments – as a result, we’ve become apt at reading subtle non-verbal cues to understand how engaged, comfortable, or interested someone is. For a long time, people believe that the non-verbal communication layer is gone in remote workplaces – but, the more we work from home, the more we realize the presence and importance of tacit communication. 

It Could Be Millennials vs. Gen X. Or It Could Be You. | New York Times 

What to do if you go back to the office only to find loads of office drama and misunderstanding waiting for you? How to leave a workplace run by a toxic manager? The new episode of “Work Friend” – a column by The New York Times – is answering these and other questions. 

The latest news on workplace trends was brought to you by oVice: a virtual office platform empowering the future of work for remote and hybrid teams. 

Finding a balance between remote and office work and making sure online and offline employees are aligned is not easy – but, with the right technology, managers can bridge communication gaps. 

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