In a recent study by PWC, it was shared that by July 2021 the 75% of the executives believes that at least half of their office employees will be working in the office.
This predicts that the future of the work is hybrid, but what good does the hybrid model bring for us?
After the coronavirus outbreak, a lot has been changed.
First came the lockdown, then the mega work transition and then everything started shifting.
The work transition happened to bring a lot more adjustments for the employees rather than just a change in the work location. The employees had to adapt to the remote working culture and all the benefits and challenges that came with it.
Many employees were when suffering from the unavailability of high-speed internet service other were fighting from loneliness and isolation.
However, with more than a year of working from home, the employees soon got caught in the situation and started working to bring better changes that can help them adapt to the remote working culture.
For instance, employees that were having a hard time sitting in their home without any meat of outside world got the spectrum select package and other home entertainment sources to keep them lively.
Similarly, many employees worked towards having better internet service at home to make remote working more effective.
However now as the vaccination rates are increasing readily and the executives are looking forward to bring employees back to the office, temporarily, there are more challenges expected to pop up soon.
Instead of letting the time decide how to act. We should be learning from the past and prepare ourselves for what is coming ahead.
Recognize that a Hybrid Policy is not easy
The hybrid work model is certainly something new and it is predicted to turn into a normal working mode for quite a few years.
Therefore, rather than taking things lightly, companies need to recognize that a hybrid work policy is hard to implement.
Hoping for the workers to work from the office some days and continue working remotely for the rest of the days is a tough model to support.
Employees had taken over a year to understand how things can work from home. Many of them managed to create a separate workstation and also created a schedule that can help them be available for their family and work while working remotely.
And now they have to leave their routine for some days to get back into the old model of working from the office, but only to force themselves back to the remote working routine.
However, if a company wants to dedicate few employees to work completely from the office and others to continue working remotely, then there are challenges for the organization as well.
For instance, those working from the office have better chances to receive better work opportunities, exposure with senior leadership, and chances for mentorship. However, this is not the same for those working from home.
Therefore, keeping a balance between employees working from home and those working from the office can be a challenge for the companies and leadership.
Leveraging Communication
Communication will not be as easy a one might think in a hybrid work model.
Employees, managers, and senior leadership had managed to create practices that involved healthy and logical communication throughout the remote working.
However, with the introduction of the hybrid work model, the communication patterns will be changed.
The companies need to leverage commutation as the key to balance and implement the work model.
Those working from home can easily feel left out from the important discussion happening in the office.
Therefore, to make the employees feel part of the bigger plan when they are not physically available in the office is part of the company’s job.
Define your Culture
By intentionally defining your company culture through physical space and virtual, you can manage to bring favors into implementing the hybrid work model.
While office culture is easier to acknowledge in a place where all the employees are available, it can be difficult when the work will transition into a hybrid model.
Here are some tips:
- Try to find a culture that supports equality between remote workers and in-person workers.
- Do not try to replicate an in-person experience with remote workers.
- Encourage team building.
Lastly, do not Force Quick Adoption
The constant transition of working standards can become hard for the employees. Instead of expecting them to quickly blend into the hybrid work culture try giving them the space to understand things on their own.
