Hybrid, streamlined and secure: Build a workplace that wins in 2022

If 2020 was about survival amid the great remote-work pressure test, 2021 has been defined by probing, charting, and ultimately, creating, a new world of work.

The inescapable idea in this new world is “hybrid work,” which will have staying power in 2022 and beyond. Case in point: Fieldwork by Citrix and Pulse recently collaborated on an international survey of IT leaders , all of whom say their organization plans to implement a hybrid work model for the foreseeable future.

But this past year has also demonstrated the challenges of hybrid work: securing a workforce that cycles in and out of the office; ensuring an even playing field for collaboration; and supporting employees through what remains a time of unprecedented upheaval, to name just a few. Drawing on survey respondents’ perspectives, as well as additional research shared by Citrix over the course of 2021, IT and business leaders can look to the successes and failures of the past year to craft a roadmap for the workplace of 2022 and beyond.

Perhaps the greatest lesson is that leaders can no longer afford to make yesterday’s compromises — between distributed collaboration and security, IT flexibility and efficiency, employee needs and business needs. This is especially true as IT decisions strike more directly at employee experiences across the organization. After all, employees won’t adopt new security protocols that make their work more complex or tedious.

The upshot? With a streamlined and flexible technology strategy, supported by the right workplace policies and programs, organizations can rise above the compromises that defined the last two years — and win in the year ahead. Here’s how.

Our methodology

Pulse and Citrix surveyed 400 IT and security leaders across North America, EMEA, and APAC regions to understand the challenges hybrid work models present and how leaders plan to manage the ongoing demands.

2022: Winning without compromise

Fieldwork by Citrix has identified three areas of learning to help you break free of old limitations and empower your organization to thrive in 2022 and beyond.

Confronting a rapidly changing world

The workplace of 2021 has equipped leaders with important insights to carry into the workplace of 2022. To be successful, organizations must implement solutions that help them balance what might appear to be competing priorities. But by adopting a “both/and” rather than an “either/or” outlook, organizations can be better equipped to meet the year’s challenges. After all, another major lesson of the past year has been the sheer speed at which change can — and most likely will — occur.

The strategies discussed here are fundamentally about building a flexible organization that can adapt as the pace of technological and societal change accelerates. Because while you can’t predict where you’ll be standing at the end of 2022, it’s clear the view will be different. With a mindful, purposeful approach to the old compromises, you’ll welcome the change.

Subscribe to the newsletter to learn how to build an IT stack that can weather upheaval with ease and efficiency.