Cisco’s ‘Global Hybrid Work’ Study Reveals Companies Still Lack in Implementation of Hybrid Mode

SAN JOSE, Calif., July 28, 2025 — As most of the companies are globally struggling to strike a balance over return-to-office, Cisco is treading a completely new path.

The tech giant is making remote work so seamless that the geography where a person is operating from holds least significance.

The initiative honing remote work is “Distance Zero,” a term coined by Cisco to refer to the ability of technology to replicate the immediacy and interpersonal dynamics of face-to-face meetings, even when participants are geographically distant.

Snorre Kjesbu, Senior VP and GM of Cisco’s Employee Experience Group and the top executive of the “Distance Zero” initiative, is spearheading the movement that aims to give a personalised touch to working remotely.

Cisco has launched the initiative along with ringing a bell about the return-to-office trend.

In Cisco’s latest Global Hybrid Work Study, based on a survey of more than 21,000 workers across 21 markets, a workplace in crisis has most prominently featured.

Almost 4 in 5 employees have opined that companies resorting to RTO is based on management’s lack of trust in remote productivity.

However, instead of creating a pressure situation for people to be back at the desk, the “Distance Zero” project is driven by technology to bridge the gap.

The concept goes much beyond just audiovisual meetings, says Kjesbu. “The biggest expectation is that your own AI television producer is there in every single meeting,” he says.

A better video quality is not the objective “Distance Zero” has been created for. The initiative is about creating technology which quickly understands human behavior and adapts to it accordingly.

How ‘Zero Distance’ Functions

A case in point is a situation where one of three remote participants joins eight colleagues in a conference room. A routine video gives a user only the preview of the presenter’s frame.

However, “Distance Zero” technology has a multi-camera setup and is powered by AI to capture the decision-maker who is listening intently but not speaking.

Such is the functioning that the system automatically makes adjustments to show the user the person whose reaction matters most to the conversation’s direction.

“It’s a longing for every participant to be able to feel the vibe in the conference room,” says Kjesbu. “Sitting in the conference room could be a person or persons with whom lies the charge to make a decision. The persons could be less conversational, but depending on their reaction, you can read where this discussion is heading towards.”

The idea is not just about improved meetings but about emerging as a winner in the talent war.

Contours of Research

According to Cisco’s research, half of high performers are associated with organizations where fewer than three days are required to be in the office.

Besides, more than three in five of all workers would take a pay cut for more remote flexibility. Companies whose core functioning focuses on absolute seamless hybrid experiences have a massive competitive advantage, the report suggests.

The productivity results of the survey have highlighted some interesting trends.

While nearly three-quarters of employees report increased productivity under new working arrangements, there is a startling revelation in terms of the technology gap.

Only half of the employees think that their employer provides consistent tools for effective remote work, despite more than 90 percent of employers and employees recognizing collaboration technology as crucial.

Benefits of Hybrid Model

Experts who have studied corporate culture as well as mental health professionals are in favour of the benefits of hybrid work arrangements, especially when all the stakeholders are in a win-win situation.

“In an organizational set-up where half the organization is working remotely, it is not appropriate to have two sets of participants,” said Ryan Zhang, Founder and CEO of Notta.ai, an AI-powered meeting notetaking and transcription platform. “At some point, all of us have been subject to poor reception of video calls, both audio and visual. Companies which excel in the hybrid format make remote participants receive the same things as on-site participants receive. These offerings could be a good quality audio and shared screens.”

“Hybrid models can make a lot of difference and fulfil needs of those wanting to stay close to home for caregiving or personal priorities,” says Christina Muller, a workplace mental health expert based in the New York area.

“There is a huge requirement that nuances of inter-personal communication are not minimized in the digital domain. A connectivity that lacks an inter-personal connection can cause burnout. With a technology that retains the human exchange can very well cure the same burnout.”

Notably, in an educational endeavor, Cisco Systems has partnered with Apple and H-Farm, an Italian educational institution and technology incubator, to launch an innovative educational initiative called “Spatial Meetings.” This collaboration leverages Apple's Vision Pro headset and Cisco’s immersive meeting infrastructure to achieve.

Most organizations still fail to provide the tools and consistency required to make hybrid work truly effective.

Inputs from Saqib Malik

Editing by David Ryder