Life may slowly return to some level of normal and what better way to start preparing for that moment. Companies will likely look at a more hybrid model of work, combining some aspects of working from the office and working from home, remotely. This may obviously take time as employees have become used to remote working. Creating a hybrid-working environment may increase the productivity and efficiency of an organisation. Hybrid models provide the best solutions for companies and organizations by combining the opportunities of in-office interactions with the flexibility of working from home. Employees are been provided with some level of freedom, allowing them the flexibility of having to fit work around their lives rather than having a fixed and structured way of work.
Hybridity promises the benefits of remote working which comes with increased flexibility, labour-cost optimisation, and increased staff satisfaction together with the traditional co-located work, which brings other elements such as smoother co-ordination, collaboration and networking amongst the staff, stronger organisation culture and greater creativity. There may be resource differences between employees who work remotely and those who work from the office. Working remotely often comes with weaker technology infrastructure (slower connections, inability to access certain information and perhaps a less sophisticated home office set-up), which makes it more difficult to demonstrate competence. Employees working from home may tend to feel isolated and lacking the connections that provide social support. On the other hand, employees working from the office may have quick access to technological infrastructure to support their work. They tend to have easier access to information and have the support of other employees within the organization.
In the article today, we also look at tips that will help organizations create a hybrid-working environment:
- Implement ways for employees to collaborate and connect: this can be done by means of connecting virtually or at the office face to face. This will also help with staff morale and motivation.
- Provide a range of meeting spaces: this may require business owners or managers to think of creative ways of designing office spaces that can be used for collaborations as well as those working remotely.
- Use workplace analytics to optimize hybrid workplace needs: organizations need to carefully plan and use analytics to gain insights on remote meeting attendees, peak meeting hours, preferred spaces for meetings and which virtual meeting platform is the best to use.
- Include employees in the journey of that transition: there is no one-size fits all hybrid workspace model. Developing a unique strategy will require careful considerations and planning that accounts for company culture, employee needs and the reality of business.
- Create a hybrid workspace policy: reflect on the long-term strategy, ensure that it is all-inclusive, and has guidelines and procedures for both remote working and office working.
Conclusion
We can see that the current pandemic has increased the need for a more hybrid workspace and the need for employees to have more flexible options for collaboration and seamless integration with remote working conditions. Therefore, it is crucial for business owners to design and create office spaces with good technological infrastructure that will allow for a hybrid workplace environment supporting both remote working and on-site work collaborations.
