What is hybrid work?
In recent months, hybrid work has fully entered our business and professional context, but what is hybrid work? Is it productive? Can it be applied in any company?
Let’s analyze hybrid work in parts and see what benefits and disadvantages it can bring to your company:
Surely a few months ago you did not know this concept, hybrid work has become the new normal for many employees, and the main cause has been the pandemic. Covid-19 has caused many companies to resort to teleworking to maintain the work of their employees and to continue offering their services. The surprise for many has been that this concept has been maintained in many companies all and flexibility in sanitary restrictions.
According to a survey conducted by Microsoft, the time spent on video calls has increased 2.5 times since the Covid-19 pandemic, and meetings last an average of 10 minutes longer than before. Despite the many benefits that working remotely can bring, it can be difficult to separate workspaces and hours from personal life, with the consequences of mental discomfort that this entails. And gender plays an important role in reconciling these two worlds.
While in the post-confinement period of Covid-19 56% of parents preferred to work from home at least once a week, in the case of mothers this figure rose to 69%.
«66% of companies say they consider redesigning their offices to support hybrid work»
Having seen what has been said, what is hybrid work?
Hybrid work is a work model that mixes characteristics of face-to-face work and remote or teleworking. The implementation of hybrid work consists of working days in person with remote working days during the week, mixing these ways of working and environments (office and home).
This work model has expanded a lot in recent months, and it is the perfect solution for those companies that cannot implement telework in a fixed and complete way, and that do not have corporate spaces to manage Hot Desking.
This model makes it possible to manage corporate spaces in a more comfortable way, since capacity is reduced in common places, increases social distancing in offices and allows greater flexibility and self-management by workers.
Advantages of hybrid work.
Flexibility, agility, and greater space management, this is what the hybrid work model brings to workers and companies.
For the employee, hybrid work allows him to self-manage and organize his time according to his needs, focusing on what he needs. In this way, his productivity is increased and favors social concepts such as family conciliation.
This management of the employee empowered their integration. Hybrid work provides the employee with greater experience, generating an increase in their motivation.
It is suitable and feasible for all kinds of office jobs, regardless of rank and position.
This model allows creating safe workspaces, since it self-manages a limited survey, generating a greater increase in the safety distance in the workplace to avoid possible infections.
It is economical and generates a reduction in indirect and fixed costs. As workers stay home longer, supply costs are lowered, and future investments in equipment and real estate are optimized.
Disadvantages of hybrid work
The biggest disadvantage is the substantial loss of socialization among employees. Participating in organized events is difficult for those workers who participate in the hybrid work model.
Breaking departmental barriers. Common spaces such as canteens or coffee areas are spaces where employees from various departments can bond outside of their organization chart. With hybrid work, these rooms look less crowded.
If companies do not provide the right tools for their workers, and if the departments are not well organized, the management of tasks and resources can become complicated.
Lack of experience working at home generates toxic habits for employees, such as taking shorter breaks or self-completion of tasks that lengthen the working day. These actions ultimately decrease employee motivation.
Old habits in employees or leaving the comfort zone can lead some employees to oppose decentralizing their job, either due to synergies or customs.
So, how to implement hybrid work in my company?
To get the most out of the hybrid work model, both the company and its employees must have tools that help and promote remote work, as well as spaces that respond to this model.
The rules and tools must be clear and within everyone’s reach. Without a good manager like Hybo, implementing the hybrid work model can be a real nightmare for people responsible for people and their employees.
Defining roles and routines so that the internal processes of the companies are not altered by the lack of distribution of tasks is extremely important. Each employee must be up to date with his work and obligations.
Adapting corporate spaces for Hot Desking or Hybrid work is cheaper than you might think. And although it seems dissuasive, having a suitable workspace for the hybrid work model is much more profitable than any other reform.
Fostering a culture of cooperation and solidarity among employees will be crucial. Not only for the projects and tasks to be carried out remotely, but also for the management and transfer of common space within the company.
It is essential to have a good cybersecurity system, remote work can only be implemented with adequate tools and with data in the cloud. For this, it is vital to protect your company’s data traffic.
And finally, the flexibility. Not giving the flexibility of choice to the employee limits the advantages that will have to implement the hybrid work in the group of its employees. The greatest argument for implementation is the increase in management by the employee of his time, and, therefore, the increase in motivation towards his work.
Having a software specialized in spaces management and integrated in large companies that use hybrid work daily is a success story. Hybo helps thousands of employees manage their time, remote work, and common spaces.