Perhaps the biggest culture impact since the start of the COVID-19 paramedic has been the shift to remote working. Employees now wish to have more freedom in their working schedule, and many believe that the traditional 8 hours in an office every day is outdated.

However, as we arrive on the other side of the pandemic, there is now a split between companies who wish to go back to how things were, and those who wish to embrace the full time remote future. But is there a middle ground? Let’s take a look.

What is Hybrid Working?

Hybrid working is when companies allow their employees to choose between working remotely or in the office.

The Benefits of Hybrid Working For Employees

The biggest benefit in hybrid working is the time people save from commuting to and from the office. Pre-pandemic, of course, the Guardian quoted that the average commute time for British workers was 55 minutes each day.  Millions of people around the world are regularly commuting for hours each day to the office, for tasks which could be completed at home.

A hybrid working schedule allows employees to save hours of commuting time, which in turn allows them to have a better work life balance and save money from the reduced commute.

Benefits Of Hybrid Work For Your Business

The main benefit of businesses implementing hybrid working is the reduced office space required compared to a normal working schedule. As your employees will no longer be spending 40 hours a week in the office, many companies worldwide are reducing their office expenditure.

A lot of companies are now utilising flexible workspaces which cater to exactly what their company needs, instead of signing multi year leases.

What is Flexible Working?

Flexible working is similar to hybrid working, however, the flexibility allows employees to choose their working hours outside the traditional 9 to 5 working hours.

The Benefits Of Flexible Working For Employees

Like hybrid working, a key benefit of flexible working is the reduced commute time as employees can spend less hours in the office than a normal schedule. However, a key difference compared to Hybrid working is the non-traditional working hours.

A study by the CIPD states that 87% of the workers in the UK from all age ranges would like more flexibility in their work. This is an overwhelming statistic in the support of businesses implementing flexible working.

Benefits Of Flexible Work For Your Business

As flexible work means your employees are working at different times throughout the day, this effectively lengthens your companies operating hours compared to the traditional 9-5 schedule.

This could be a major advantage over your competitors as the flexible working hours allows your business to respond to customers or partners across different time zones.

Final Thoughts: Which Is Best for Your Business?

We’ve discussed some of the key differences between and benefits of hybrid and flexible working, but it’s vital that you understand there isn’t a perfect system.

Every company has different demands, and so it is ultimately down to you to understand which working model you believe best suits your business on a case-by-case basis.