What is hybrid work and why do employees want it?
For example, if you select a “Set-Day” hybrid setup, then employees will be expected to come in on certain days. Olio came to us after experiencing challenges related to remote work, especially in shaping corporate culture, promoting collaboration, and offering employees alternatives to working from home. Hybrid companies may also choose to rent a part-time office (like us at Hubble!).
Second, establish set days when employees are in the office together, and make work in the office team-focused and not individual-focused. This increases in-office collaboration and engagement, while reporting helps manage remote work. As you implement these tools and processes, remember that the transition to hybrid work is an ongoing journey.
- Hybrid team structures allow employees to decide whether they prefer an office environment or working from anywhere remotely.”
- And when you do run into a challenge, be quick to raise it so that your teammates learn to trust that if there’s an issue, you’ll be transparent about it.
- For example, you might use Slack for quick questions and email for formal announcements.
- For instance, Announcements about changes to work conditions and other general information should be brought to the attention of all your team members at the same time.
- The company recognizes that different functions require different levels of in-person collaboration.
Focus Topic: Return-to-Work Miniseries
Here’s a brief breakdown of the four types of work schedules out there. Some organizations have chosen to be fully remote, while others must be onsite in order to function, like healthcare, education, or manufacturing. Because of this, employees may choose different industries based on the levels of flexibility on offer. Reliability is about people’s sense that you’re dependable and will deliver for them when it counts. This trust is often eroded in teams because leaders fail to align on priorities or prioritize at all.
Disadvantage #1: Harder to collaborate with remote employees
The challenge stems from the trust disparity between those working in the office and those working from home. What’s interesting is that you might not have chosen to be a member of a hybrid team. You might have opted to work full-time in the office, but if you’ve got teammates who choose to work remotely (at least some of the time), you are automatically a member of a hybrid team. Hybrid work has many advantages for roles with the flexibility to work remotely. If I was making recommendations solely based on optimizing the success of individual employees, I’d be an unapologetic fan of hybrid arrangements.
To prevent this, companies should make an effort to bring remote and in-office employees together. Virtual team-building activities, regular check-ins, and social events can help everyone feel like part of the team. Managers should also ensure that remote employees have equal opportunities for promotions, mentorship, and career growth.
Why Your Hybrid Policies Should Evolve Over Time
Balancing trust with accountability creates a hybrid model that scales without sacrificing connection or performance. Quality matters—poor technology creates friction that undermines the hybrid model. Invest in tools that work seamlessly regardless of whether employees are remote or on-site. The promise of a better work-life balance attracts many people to hybrid work models, but companies must actively support this shift. Encouraging employees to set and communicate working hours and get more control over their days is especially important when hybrid teams span multiple time zones. The companies with flexible hybrid work models that thrive aren’t just allowing remote and onsite employees to split their time randomly.
- Next, pick tools and routines (like shared chat channels, rotating meeting schedules, and pre-distributed agendas).
- Second, lean into brief touchpoints throughout the week because communication is king.
- However, the key difference is that employees are expected to follow a consistent and pre-determined hybrid work schedule set by the employer.
Different Types of Connections
By prioritizing culture and connection in your hybrid work model, you’ll create a resilient, engaged workforce ready to tackle whatever challenges come their way. Company culture is the lifeblood of any organization, shaping how employees interact, make decisions, and approach their work. As businesses transition to hybrid work models, preserving and nurturing this culture becomes both more challenging and more crucial than ever.
Make Office Time Worth The Commute
However, many find traditional “watercooler moments” and office small talk distracting and superficial rather than valuable. We need to talk less about individual productivity and talk more about the obligation to contribute to healthy teams and organizations. Encourage managers to lead by example by disconnecting after hours and taking their vacation time. Make sure your team knows it’s okay to block off focus time on their calendars or step away for a midday break.
Key Takeaways on Managing Hybrid Projects
Understand your business and understand the needs of your people. The only right thing to do is to create a work environment where your employees have what they need to thrive personally and professionally. Entrepreneurs should design their model around the moments that matter most—collaboration, creativity and connection. Make the office the arena for trust-building and decision-making, and let remote work be where focus and delivery thrive.
Keen to learn more about optimising your chosen workspace strategy? We’ve put together a quick guide on how you can ensure your strategy aligns with your business goals and employees. You can do this by measuring its success through productivity metrics, hybrid workplace model guide employee satisfaction surveys, retention rates, and the quality of output or performance. Hybrid work policies are only effective if employees can access and understand them. Rather, non-negotiables are just clear rules for your team based on your chosen hybrid strategy. With thousands of on‑demand workspaces available in the UK and beyond, Hubble On‑Demand makes it easy to organise in‑person work for your remote team, wherever and whenever you need.
Creating Digital Spaces for Casual Interaction
A structured policy helps balance remote and in-office work and optimizes resource management. By implementing a system for booking desks and meeting rooms, you can create a more efficient and organized office environment for everyone. Adopting a hybrid model offers compelling advantages for both employees and the company.
The best way to get employees on board is through clear and open communication. Instead of simply announcing a new policy, explain the reasons behind it, ask for feedback, and listen to concerns. Employees who feel included in the decision-making process are more likely to embrace the change and make it work. Most companies have employees in the office three to four days a week, with 34% of employers using this setup. In Europe, fewer companies (26%) require employees to be in the office full-time, while it’s more common in APAC (38%) and the Americas (35%) for employees to work in the office all five days. Employees can work remotely up to 50% of the time, and those who need more remote days can request approval from their manager.
