The Hybrid Work Environment

As the population was sent careening into the throes of a global pandemic, the workplace received a considerable impact from the effects of COVID-19 and new arrangements had to be made. Many professionals from all types of industries began to work from home.

The problem was that not every line of work is conducive to a total work from home policy. The obvious answer was to create a sort of halfway mark between working at home and conventional office work — this has become lovingly known as the hybrid workplace model. 

As you may imagine, this working arrangement allows employees to gather for office work at some points while returning to their homes to complete other tasks. This has called for a revolution in the way that offices are designed to accommodate for the number of employees that will arrive at the office and the social distancing policies currently in effect.  Working schedules have also been readjusted to allow for remote workers and those stationed at the office to coordinate their work routines properly.  Many companies choose HR outsourcing to manage staff effectively.

According to a survey by Salesforce, most workers (64%) are all for the idea of working part time at the office and the rest of the time from their homes. Then, another 37% of the working population has considered the idea of working from home after the pandemic has passed to be a worthy idea. 

While this does sound like an ideal way to work in theory, it has certainly been a trick to pull off practically. Let’s begin by going through some of the advantages and disadvantages of the hybrid workplace model.   

Pros of a hybrid workplace

Emphasis on productivity, not efficiency

Under this new model of the workplace many things will have to be reconsidered. For example, the way performance is measured will have to be adjusted to some degree. Under the conventional work model, employees gather at the office for a clear set of working hours and this maximizes efficiency. Management uses the quantity of “inputted hours” to gauge the performance of their team to complete projects. 

But with workers being able to work from home this has to be changed. It is now necessary to decide who is working on which project and what they can actually expect to accomplish in a given amount of time. This means that productivity, rather than efficiency, is the key performance indicator used by management to support their teammates with the resources they need to create positive workflow. 

The good news is that there are plenty of workforce scheduling tools available that can make it easier to manage shift rotations and schedules as well as include breaks in the work process. This makes it easier to manage remote work. And these tools are not only good for the managers, employees can use these tools to stay up to date with the progress of their projects and maintain awareness of what they are doing every day.

Reduced cost of operation

With fewer employees arriving at the office for work, the costs of running and office have also been considerably diminished. Not only does the hybrid business model mean that rental costs are reduced but fewer resources are required to run an office. 

For example, the “normal” demand for snacks and water needed to support your full employee roster are reduced. Furthermore, employees will be spending considerably less time and energy on the commute and this is especially good news for those that are not living near the office. 

Redefining collaboration

Employees no longer have to gather in a conference room to share ideas and collaborate.

With the advent of asynchronous communication and internal communications systems, meetings can be held across distances and are no longer location dependent as they had been. A top-notch “intranet, such as this one provided by Jostle, allows for social posts, targeted announcements, sign-on/sign-off features and quick update features that support and foment the synergy that a good workplace requires. They also provide that feeling of teamwork and collaboration essential to a productive workforce.

Employee prioritization

Another aspect of professionalism that has seen considerable improvement is the capacity to integrate work and homelife. There is a considerable measure of flexibility and trust needed from management. Many companies have supplied their workers with the tools they need to do their job more adequately. This includes standing desks, orthopedic office equipment and other details that break the monotony of a work-at-home routine. 

Many companies have even been arranging 1:1 meeting with their employees on a regular basis to understand more about their professional and even personal lives. This allows teams to have a clearer idea of milestones and achievements as well as areas that need improvement. 

Cons of a hybrid workplace

Diminished client experience

Many different businesses apply a vital measure of specialization when managing customers. Without the capacity to include employees in the office to have these face-to-face meetings with clients, some urgent cases will be neglected. One example would be copyright and patent infringement lawyers.  

Many customers are accustomed to showing up at a physical location to receive specialist services and the can lose their familiar customer experience in the hybrid workplace. While technology can offset this loss of customer experience to a certain degree, considerable time will be taken before the policy becomes standard. 

Increased employee isolation

A certain degree of camaraderie and good employee relationships will be lost as employees spend more and more time away from each other. Many employees will feel lonely and isolated when the jokes, encounters, stories, company outings and regular work dynamics are sidelined. 

This could cause feelings of demotivation and some groups of employees can feel these effects more than others.  Without the capacity to swivel the office chair around and engage in meaningful communications with coworkers the sense of collaboration can be lost. This lack of input from coworkers can cause a barrier that could lead to poor decisions being made. 

Heightened cyber risks

When working across distant locations the risks of cyberattacks and the loss of valuable digital information can be increased. This will call for a considerable investment of time, planning and resources in setting up stalwart password management, constant software updates and multi-factor authentication to avoid cases of data breach. 

Over-politicized workplace

Employers will have to be constantly revising their operations to ensure that they are both effective and democratic. Because the office is the center of operations, it is only natural that the power will be slightly tilted towards those spending time at the office, much to the neglect of those employees not at the office. This can lead to a deterioration of unity as people begin to fall into camps, and those that are not at the office will feel less favored on the basis of their schedules and locations. 

Difficulty maintaining productive routines

Finally, there will be the conflicts between managing a home life and professional. This can be especially true for parents, who will have to juggle their responsibilities to kids and chores with the scheduled meetings and work responsibilities they have. 

Furthermore, the hybrid work environment can lead to increased burnout and may not be the most productive scenario. New sets of habits are expected to emerge such as power naps and breaks to walk around the block. Many employees will naturally feel overwhelmed by the need to develop different work routines to manage their home life and professional responsibilities.