Around March 2020, most professionals were in the same boat. While places were quickly shutting down, so did our offices. It seemed like we blinked, and we were immersed in a hastily thrown together remote working environment. Living rooms were converted into offices, kitchen tables now housed spreadsheets, and suddenly our offices doubled as a daycare. A year later, we have learned one core message- hybrid officing will be the new normal.
The hybrid workplace is a model that combines both remote and office work. For example, maybe an employee would work in the office two days a week and work from home three days a week. Or possibly certain teams would commit to working in the office for a week prior to a launch of a new product. The key to the hybrid approach is flexibility and productivity.
According to a WSJ article, employer’s opinions about the effectiveness of remote work have been significantly more positive since April 2020. While some organizations, like Facebook have pledged to continue a complete remote work model, about 68% of employers want employees in the office at least part-time. Additionally 55% of US employees want a hybrid approach to home and office working.
The hybrid approach brings a results to in a variety of benefits to any team including:
Increased productivity
With minimal distractions, remote workers tend to be more productive than employees who are in the office 100% of the time. One downside to only working at home is the feeling of loneliness and lack of collaboration. Hybrid models bring together the best of both worlds by giving employees the option to focus on solo projects at home, while facilitating a space for better communication.
Improved work-life balance
When your office is in your living room, it can feel like you never leave work. In a post-COVID world, employees are placing more value on the idea of work-life balance. With a hybrid approach, you can give your employees the flexibility of putting in a load of laundry in between meetings, while also giving them the opportunity to create work boundaries through a physical space.
Flexibility
Flexibility results in increased employee satisfaction. One major perk of working from home has been the increased flexibility. While most employees are looking to continue working remotely part-time, the flexibility of a hybrid workplace is unbeatable. It gives employees the chance to get their work done, without being completely tied to your average nine to five.
While we had many takeaways from working during a pandemic, the main one is that we need to rethink the “typical office” approach. Working remotely and in the office both have their own benefits, but a 100% model of either isn’t effective. People are demanding flexibility and better work-life balance. The hybrid workplace approach is the most effective way to achieve this, and in turn employers are seeing happier and more productive employees.