Navigating the Hybrid Work Landscape
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Many employees were thrust into working from home during the COVID pandemic. And with that, employer perceptions of where employees could effectively work changed completely. Likewise, employees had their eyes opened to the fact that, depending on the role and duties, work could be completed somewhere other than the communal company building.
Four years post-COVID’s havoc on the global market and work environments, and some concepts have not changed. The “work somewhere other than the company site” epiphany has not waned however. Companies and employees are at a crossroads on how to address employee wishes to work remotely with the necessity of working onsite.
To maintain and increase productivity while mitigating a loss of talent, companies are evaluating how to balance the remote wishes of employees with the benefits of working in the office landscape. With this in mind, companies and employees are embracing hybrid work landscapes. This is in an effort meet the ever evolving needs of employees and the company itself in the business world. Leading this work paradigm shift is not an easy task; however, navigating the hybrid work landscape is essential for companies to maneuver in their quest for maximum productivity and retention of talent.
Hybrid Work Styles
Hybrid work landscapes have different setups, and those can be determined by company leadership. Four main styles exist. Flexible work schedules allow employees to determine when they will be onsite at the company. As well as when they will be working remotely. Scheduling is employee driven provided work performance is not impacted, and open communication occurs between employees on the schedule in place. Fixed work schedules are company driven schedules. Managers and designated company leaders establish the schedule of when employees are onsite and remote.
The other two setups, office driven and remote driven, are opposites in nature but are set up similarly. In an office driven setup, employees are onsite most of the time with the ability for occasional remote work while in a remote driven setup, employees are remote the majority of the time with occasional onsite work. All four hybrid work landscapes have their purpose. When companies evolve into a hybrid work landscape, it is essential that the company finds the most beneficial landscape that meets the scope of its business and supports the work culture established.
Communication
Balance and communication are the keys to success in navigating any hybrid landscape. Get input from employees regarding their needs and preferences. If employees do not have the option to share their insight about hybrid work arrangements in development or already in existence, this could result in unhappy employees who will seek employment elsewhere. Managers and Human Resources professionals must solicit employees’ insight and listen to collective feedback. If employees feel like they can share their thoughts and are listened to by their managers, this will help with the workflow. Everyone wants to be listened to…not just heard.
Setting Location
Understand the scope of work that needs to be completed, and identify the best place for the work. Some tasks which require collaboration might be best suited for onsite work time. Others might be perfect tasks for hybrid work. When together in person, this can give teammates a chance to connect with each other generating strategies to solve tasks and questions at hand. Remote work can be beneficial for project completion, research and independent work. When remote, social chats and distractions can be muted allowing more uninterrupted time to complete tasks. Managers and employees must communicate strengths and challenges when working in both formats to identify the most effective work landscape for each team player to effectively complete individual and shared tasks which drive the company’s success.
Checkpoints
No matter the location, it is crucial for teammates to know the status of tasks, projects and scheduling. Set checkpoints for teams to communicate with each other and with managers. Managers and employees must work in unison to ensure that internal and external stakeholders are aware of key details. Chat software works well when employees are working remotely. When onsite, use that same chat software to ask onsite teammates when a good time is to chat about a particular item. Interrupting a person’s focus on a particular project or task can impede productivity. Face-to-face communication is beneficial; however, give employees the chance to finish projects and gather relevant material to answer questions before springing into their onsite workspace.
Respect each other’s schedules. Depending on the set up of the organization, flexibility should be integrated as that helps with work-life balance. If a teammate is out of the office on PTO, has shifted their schedule to attend to personal matters or if they are working different shifts or in different time zones, ensure there are visibly scheduled “do not disturb” or “unavailable” indicators to prevent communication at inopportune times. More importantly, employees need to respect those boundaries. This means not communicate during teammates’ unavailable times unless there is a bona fide need that cannot wait. Pinging with questions when an employee is asleep or at a doctor’s appointment is not going to enhance team morale. This respect and flexibility is critical to hybrid work success.
Keeping the Same Schedule
Keep routines. In the office, if certain meetings are held at specific times, hold those consistently onsite or when remote. When working remotely, keep a schedule there too. At home, have a designated workspace that is purely for work to help establish boundaries between work life and home life. Having a dedicated work area makes it easier to “leave” work at the end of a work at home day when the area used for work is not used for personal matters. Put a personal touch on communication too. Connections are important when people are not around each other consistently.
The average person spends over 90,000 hours at work in their lifetime. So it is important to develop and maintain connections within a team. Provide opportunities for employees to share what is going on in their lives if they want to share. Do not require personal sharing though as some people might not feel like talking about specific personal events that are occurring.
Conclusion
Working in a hybrid work landscape creates a bridge between the office and remote environments. It gives employees the chance to be autonomous yet interconnected with others who are focused on shared goals. Hybrid work landscapes promote environmental responsibility with reduced pollution due to fewer trips to the office. They also are timesavers by reducing employees’ commute times. Hybrid work landscapes are dependent on collaboration and communication. By empowering employees to work in a landscape that meets individual and company needs, productivity and personal satisfaction will increase creating a win-win situation for employees and the company itself.
