Employees around the world are returning to offices slowly. However, not everyone is happy about the decision. Some still want to work remotely and never go back to the office! Undoubtedly, COVID-19 made remote work a norm around the world. People grew used to working from home away from the office for over a year. Businesses also didn’t mind the perks of remote work, like saving overheads and more productivity. In addition, employees were able to achieve a better work-life balance and more freedom. Yet, meeting face-to-face is necessary, and many industries can’t afford to work from home. In these circumstances, the hybrid work model can come to the rescue and please everyone.
What is the Hybrid Work Model?
A hybrid working model is a mix of remote work and office work. Employees can work few days of the week from the office and the rest from home. Businesses can decide the ratio of remote and office work they want and create a policy accordingly.
The hybrid working model can take different approaches to meet the varying needs of businesses. Let’s check out the three main strategies you can adopt while implementing the hybrid model.
Remote-Focused Hybrid Work Model
Your hybrid model can prioritize working from home and fewer hours at the office. This remote-first approach is ideal for companies that have grown comfortable with remote work.
You can decide how many days or hours an employee must spend in the office each week. For example, your staff may work one or two days from the office and the rest from home.
Or, you can keep the office for events that require everyone to come together or collaborate.
A remote-first approach can also make your employees happier. Over 50% of them want to work from home for 3 or more days weekly after the pandemic.
Office-Focused Hybrid Work Model
Some industries can’t rely on a remote-first approach. From manufacturing to healthcare, many businesses need employees to be present in the workplace.
Additionally, 22% of the workforce still wants to work almost completely in the office, according to PwC.
As a result, some companies are making office work mandatory and allowing remote work alongside. For example, employees may work four days from the office and 1 day from home.
Balanced Hybrid Model
You can also balance your approach and create a comfortable mix of remote and office working.
For example, you can allow your staff to come to the office and work if they want. However, the priorities would be using the office space for in-person collaboration and connecting.
This approach keeps everyone happy and allows the leadership to stay flexible. You can easily move towards a remote-first or office-first model from this position without much effort.
How to Implement Hybrid Work Model
Keep the following in mind to reap the most benefits out of your hybrid working model:
Involve the Leadership
Your leadership should follow the same model as the rest of your company. So, if it’s a remote-first approach, ensure your leadership doesn’t work out of the office.
On the contrary, your leadership should work from the office if you adopt an office-first approach.
Gather Data
Focus on data to gauge your performance and determine which model suits you best. You may notice your employees are more productive when they work remotely or vice-versa.
So, stick to what your data analysis reveals.
Ensure In-Person Events
Employees can feel isolated and miss the busy environment of the office while working from home. As a result, businesses must hold at least a few in-office events to keep up the team spirit.
For example, you can organize team lunches or company events where everyone meets physically to discuss how things are going.
Remove any Bias
64% of managers are likely to promote office workers as they see them as better performers than remote staff.
As you can see, bias may creep up in any organization and distort the real picture. Therefore, educate your managers and those in charge to remove any bias.
In addition, use data to determine the performance of employees.
Final Thoughts
The hybrid work model is a natural choice when most employees want flexible working options. Best of all, you can tune the model to focus on remote or office work based on your needs. However, ensure you involve your leadership and hold in-person meetings occasionally to retain the team spirit.
