Hybrid Working

When it comes to the subject of returning back to the office, it’s clear that for most organisations, the days of spending Monday to Friday, 9 – 5 in the office are gone. Whilst hybrid working is being glorified as the future work model, it isn’t free of challenges. Hybrid working is more complex than simply giving employees a choice over whether they come in and work from the office or work from home. It adds to the existing issues of attracting and retaining talent, addressing burnout, and supporting staff that is facing barriers in the workforce. We’ve listed out a few pros and cons for you to think about if your company is looking to move towards a hybrid-working model.

Pro

Flexibility | With a hybrid work model, an employee can decide when, where, and how they work best. Some employees feel that they are more productive working from home where they’re able to focus without the office interruptions and distractions. They are able to gain back hours of their day by not having to commute.

Con

Some staff face challenges from working at home such as parents with young children, childcare issues, or employees with unsuitable home office working environment. Hybrid workers can feel unhappy, disengaged and isolated.

Pro

Communication | Hybrid communication using video conferencing means to collaborate with people who are residing away from each other. Companies use video conferencing for meetings, training, webinars, hosting company wide meetings / announcements to global offices. It also allows for quicker decisions for time sensitive projects.

Con

Hybrid communication can prove difficult. Video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams, Google Meet & Zoom make it easy to blend in the background and not participate during meetings. There are risks of technical issues and there is a less personal contact. It can also create security risks. Working outside the office network can make it harder to monitor employees’ online activities. They could unknowingly be downloading a virus or fall victim to a phishing scam. Their home security may not be up to company standards. They could also be working off a home computer instead of their protected work laptop.

Pro

Costs | Since not all employees will be working on-site all the time, a hybrid work model can save money. Businesses won’t need as many offices, printers, photocopiers, computers and furniture. This translates to lower costs for companies. There can also be a decrease in the utility bills since fewer staff will be using electricity. From an employee’s perspective, they don’t have to spend money commuting to and from the office. Their meals might also be cheaper as they won’t be spending money eating out.

Con

Switching your company to a hybrid-working model can be costly for businesses. If a company changes to a hybrid work setup, they may need to invest in laptops for staff to use that are encrypted and secure. If you business is not a cloud-based business, you will need to invest in the right tech to bring it over. This may also require training at a cost. Depending on what country you are in, you may have other legal obligations that you need to pay out for staff to be able to work in a hybrid model.

Conclusion

At this point, we think it’s too early to say which approach is best. We have had hybrid working arrangements before, but never on such a massive scale, for so many different industries, employers and employees, with proper at-home offices and technology that focused on collaboration and connectivity. There is also certain industries that are not suitable for this type of work model. These include healthcare, drivers, manufacturing and retail.

We think it will take a few years of exploration and development before we can truly assess the pros and cons, and come up with the final verdict. But even that may never be possible considering all the variations of workplaces as what works for one, doesn’t necessarily work for another.

The hybrid work model definitely has its pros and cons. While there are advantages to implementing this type of working arrangement, it will require careful consideration and planning. Before making any changes to your current business model, ensure that your company evaluates which working model is best suited for your organisation.

Our Tips

Understand the challenges

Each employee has different concerns and thoughts feelings regarding the return to work, and the possibility of moving to a hybrid working model – and they are all valid. Companies should consider conducting a survey or individual meetings with each employee to gauge their thoughts and feelings towards the idea of implementing a hybrid work model. Some employees will prefer working from home indefinitely, while others may want to go back to the normalcy working in an office provides.

Then there are the staff who will fall in the middle of these two opinions. Talking to and taking your employees’ preferences into account is necessary to create an environment where employees feel heard, valued, safe and respected during this potential transition period.

Trust your employees

If you don’t trust your employees to work in a hybrid model, then it’s not likely the initiative is going to fail. Rather than micromanaging by trying to track every minute of your employee’s day, try implementing deadlines or milestones via project management tools like Asana or Trello to get a better understanding of how staff are using their time. If employees are getting their tasks done and on time, then you can validate that they are being productive with their working hours.

Instilling trust in your employees is essential to them to do their job to the best of their ability. If staff feel you trust them, then they’re going to want to get things completed and on time.

Offer opportunities for connection

As we said earlier in this blog, working from home can be isolating for some people. Especially if they aren’t regularly given the chance to connect with their colleagues. An idea is to schedule a daily or weekly morning tea call where you all grab a cuppa tea and just check in. Not about work but how everyone is doing, what they are up to, how they are feeling, what animal is at their feet. It’s a great way to ensure the opportunity for human connection is always available to your team and employees.

Staff should be encouraged to book time with one another in order to connect outside of company scheduled meetings. The closer your team becomes, the better they will work together in the long run both hybrid and in person. If you notice a staff member seems disengaged or not dialling in for meetings, check in on them. They may need some 1 on 1 time instead of a group setting.

Encourage a healthy work lifestyle

As discussed earlier in the blog, we know the benefits of employees being able to to work from home or another remote location can promote a better work-life balance. But we have also discussed that extended periods of working with minimal interaction with other people can also lead to burnout, and feelings of anxiety and isolation.

Companies should encourage employees to experiment with their working patterns and figure out which approach works best for them. Where possible, allow them to try starting earlier and clocking off earlier, starting later and clocking off later, break up the day to be able to do kid drop off and pick up. As long as staff are available for business critical calls and timelines in business hours, they should experiment to see how this hybrid working arrangement can work best for them and figure out what hours they are at their most productive.

We are not experts in this area. We are merely suggesting some tips that companies create a non-judgemental culture. A culture that doesn’t celebrate working crazy hours at the cost of staff’s wellbeing. Be proactive in looking for the signs of staff with mental health strain and encourage staff to use their leave and take breaks when needed.

What are your thoughts? Leave a comment below.