Your Guide to the Hybrid Workplace Model
There’s no doubt that 2020 presented a significant workplace shift. With COVID-19 sweeping the globe, most workplaces turned to remote work, making working from home the new normal. This kept employees safe while still allowing business to continue.
Now, over a year into the coronavirus crisis, restrictions are being lifted as vaccines are being rolled out, and companies are responding to this new age of health and work with a hybrid workplace model. This remote work, in-office tug-of-war, that employers are battling with is new ground for many. The vast majority of jobs prior to March 2020 were done in a dedicated workplace setting -- not a spare bedroom. However, this hybrid workplace model has only exacerbated the rise in digital transformation.
In order for businesses to balance a productive workforce, there is no time to half-heartedly buy into the necessary technology and philosophy for remote work. Employers and employees are quickly coming to the reality that new innovative tools are needed to make a modern workplace model excel.
According to a survey reported by BBC.com, 55% of US workers prefer a mixture of at-home and in-office work. For many businesses, remote work actually proved to have higher productivity for employees and a higher retention rate. Due to the benefits of remote work, it’s likely that some businesses will want to adopt at least part-time remote work permanently — now being called a hybrid model of work.
This model marries both traditional in-office work with remote work. For some, it’s considered the best of both worlds (though there are others who are fans of the traditional model that would disagree). Regardless, according to Business Insider, 80% of businesses will adopt this new model in a post-pandemic world — meaning a dramatic shift toward digital transformation across most industries.
Despite the apparent benefits of incorporating some remote work into a typical work week, experts are reporting some challenges to the hybrid workplace model.
Challenges of a Hybrid Workplace Model
It’s disruptive to daily workflow
Some worry that having a hybrid workplace model will be disruptive. According to Brian Kropp, Vice President of research at Gartner, “In a lot of ways it’s going to be more disruptive than when we went all remote,” The Washington Post reports.
Instead of keeping everything in one place to get work done, employees will have to transfer their work and tools between two different spaces. This could be disruptive to workflows and might make it harder to keep track of meetings and deadlines, as things can get lost in the shuffle. Additionally, the hybrid workplace model could cause a communication sticking point for some companies as a portion of employees may be remote on a given day and the other portion physically present. This could lead to disjointed messaging and items that fall through the cracks when all parties are not present in the same channels.
To avoid disruption, employers can try and keep this model as scheduled and streamlined as possible, setting on-site hours, or core hours, for employees to work in-office.
Costs may increase for employers
As many businesses gear up to transition from working remotely to a hybrid model, they can expect a pricey endeavor. According to Google, “As we prepare to return our workforce in more locations back to the office in 2021, we may experience increased costs as we prepare our facilities for a safe return to work environment and experience with hybrid work models, in addition to potential effects on our ability to compete effectively and maintain our corporate culture.”
Even with a hybrid model, extra health precautions have to be taken. This quickly adds up for businesses. This begs the question of how can this be most effectively and efficiently be done? Can a hybrid workplace model work as well as a fully remote work environment? Will the benefits outweigh the costs? This decision is one that should be discussed with multiple stakeholders and department heads within the company, including the CFO.
This model may create two classes of employees
Another challenge of hybrid work is the potential it creates for employees to end up in two different classes in the eyes of their employers. Management may begin to favor those who are more “hands-on” with the company — aka in the office more often. According to Wired, it could create “two fundamentally different employee experiences.”
The hybrid model may take away the opportunity for some to excel in their career and build strong interpersonal coworker relationships, whereas others who revert back to a more traditional model of work will have the opportunity for those options.
With the COVID-19 pandemic creating a lot of personal and professional isolation, people are eager to once again enjoy a sense of community. It is shortsighted to believe that after a year lay off, those opting for the hybrid workplace model over total remote work wouldn’t see some level of interpersonal gain with their co-workers and superiors compared to the telecommuting employee. Even with the collaborative power attached to digital transformation, sometimes face-to-face interactions can’t be replaced.
The advantages of a hybrid workplace model
You get the best of both worlds
There are plenty of pros to both remote and in-office work. When talking about hybrid work, you get the best of both worlds. There is still structure and sociability but with the added benefits of independence and flexibility.
There is better employee retention
Employees reported being significantly more satisfied with their jobs when working remotely than when working in the office, which has resulted in better retention. As a hybrid workplace model becomes more popular, we can assume that retention will stay up as long as safety precautions are taken, and employees still feel their health is prioritized in their working environment.
Additionally, this model gives employers a potentially larger pool of candidates to pull from when hiring. If daily commuting to an in-person office isn’t necessary, more talent can be gathered in the surrounding areas. In the long run, this gives a company a better opportunity to hire the best fit for their positional needs.
Providing employees with a feel-good, flexible model, where they can have the freedom to work at their own pace seems to fare significantly better than the workplace status quo of decades past. Due to digital transformation, and its effect on the 21st-century workforce, employees are better able to balance their work-life relationship -- which may shift the tide of younger generations hopping jobs regularly.
Employees are more productive
Remote work has proven to actually increase productivity. With digital transformation efforts being put into place less time and energy is spent on long commutes, water-cooler talk, and lengthy in-person meetings daily, employees are now using their work hours more productively.
With the hybrid workplace model coming into play, you can have in-person meetings when absolutely necessary but still cut out daily commutes. This saves in-office meetings for when they will be the most rewarding and often will have employees feeling refreshed and invigorated when a meeting is called.
Tips for transitioning to a hybrid workplace model
Be flexible about when employees have to be in the office. The transition from working completely remote to a hybrid model will take time, and it will help if you make it as comfortable for your employees as possible.
Provide several meeting spaces to give options and lots of space to spread out for when people gather for in-person meetings.
Be clear and transparent about your safety measures to make sure all employees feel safe when entering a newly introduced hybrid workplace model.
Digital transformation is a necessity for any business making the change to a hybrid work model. Make sure you have the tools in place that employees can use both in-office and at home to stay connected (like Stormboard!).
The Future Outlook of a Hybrid Workplace
After an unprecedented year, businesses are trying their best to come up with a new model of work that will work best for all of their employees. Remote work has actually worked significantly better than many companies predicted, and they are now trying to adopt the benefits of remote work while simultaneously attempting to transition back to a normal work-life balance.
With productivity, retention, and work satisfaction at an all-time high with remote work, more CEOs, founders, managers, and stakeholders are trying to maintain the benefits of remote work by adopting a hybrid workplace model. This experiment, which marries remote work with traditional office work, might be the best solution for both sides of the aisle moving forward. As digital transformation continues to reshape businesses across the globe, this past year can serve as a litmus test for employees and employers alike that a hybrid workplace model could define a new era of work.
Though many businesses can expect some speed bumps, and some critics are hesitant, the hybrid workplace model looks like it’s on its way to becoming not just the future choice, but the right choice.
Are you looking for an online whiteboard tool to help with your transition to a hybrid workplace model? Sign up for a free trial with Stormboard now and try out the best online whiteboard on the market!
About the Author
Celina Dawdy is a freelance writer in Edmonton, Alberta. When she isn’t writing, she’s volunteering and spending time with her three dogs.
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