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Now that everyone has been working away from the office for over a year, some managers are considering opening up their offices again.
The big question is WHY.
Why make everyone come back into the office after workflows and processes were streamlined offsite?
Why force employees to start commuting again?
Why increase office costs like supplies, utilities, and equipment?
There are a lot of good answers. A physical office creates higher fidelity conversations, facilitates faster decisions, and creates more spontaneous interactions that can lead to innovation. Energy is more palpable in a physical office than a completely digital space.
There’s a reason why co-working spaces are so popular – they give freelancers a way to socialize with like-minded people in an environment fused with similar energy.
Hybrid offices (try to) blend the best of both worlds
Is it possible to get the benefits of remote work and also the in-office experience? What are the hybrid model advantages and disadvantages?
In our heads, the hybrid model seems to work well. A typical work week is five days long. We don’t need to be in the office all of those days, right? What if you allowed remote work for one, two, or three of those days? That would still allow for time in office with others, but still get some of the advantages of remote work.
Let’s look at several of the advantages of the hybrid model.
5 hybrid workplace advantages
1. Cost savings
File this one under “mileage may vary”, but most organizations should see a net cost savings by shifting to hybrid.
Potential savings can come from:
- Reduced need for office space, physical supplies, etc.
- Increased employee retention
Employees should also save on transportation, clothing, and meals.
However, there are expenses that come with hybrid work. These can include:
- Maintaining an office big enough for everyone to come to at once
- Equipping home offices
- New investments in technology for better hybrid meetings and collaboration
The end result should be savings across the board, but you may not realize it for several months.
2. Team members are happier
Having the flexibility to work outside the office is a great choice for nearly everyone. When working from home, or a co-working space, team members might have a more relaxing morning routine, and not walk into the office with the stress of the commute.
Seeing everyone in person can help with social wellbeing as well and create strong bonds, even if it isn’t every day.
Stress is contagious, and reducing the stress in your team members’ lives is a great way to make sure you stay healthy and happy.
When the day starts positively, everything else just flows better. And that makes for a much happier workforce overall.
3. Employee relationships improve
Even the best of friends can get on each other’s nerves when they’re around each other all the time. That’s why seeing the same people day-in and day-out can be stressful – especially when they aren’t exactly our friends.
For many of us, the relationships we have with our workmates can be some of the most constructive because they force us to learn how to compromise (and practice anger-management skills!). At the same time, there is a lot of pressure because we depend on each other.
We might give our friends and family members “breaks” for bad behavior, but with co-workers it’s different. It’s easy to forget that our workmates are people as well. Some might be going through major relationship challenges, dealing with health issues, or having other serious problems they don’t discuss openly.
Everyone is going through something at any given point in time – it’s part of the human experience! At the very least, working from home can take some of the pressure off a stressful environment and contribute to better relationships at the workplace.
4. Workplace productivity improves
Did you know that productivity actually goes up when employees work from home? A California-based company observed a 47% increase in productivity when tracking workers without using invasive technology like spyware or keystroke loggers.
This intuitively makes sense on some level because remote working has so many benefits. The productivity-enhancing aspects of working from home – like having our own quiet workspace and taking multiple breaks when we need them – just aren’t the same in a shared office environment.
5. Digital workplaces improve efficiency
The last year has seen a staggering rise in the use of managed IT services that included cloud-based infrastructure and software. This was made possible by the rushed need for remote work solutions brought on by COVID-19 restrictions, and it can be argued that similar investments might have taken years during “normal” circumstances.
Employees can now work securely from any location. On top of that, integrations between software systems have improved workflows, reduced redundant tasks, and improved collaboration for greater overall efficiency.
The big hybrid model disadvantages
Hybrid seems like an easy answer, but there’s always a catch, right?
1. You have to pick a model
Are you adding the office to your remote model, or are you adding remote flexibility to your office model? It may seem like a small point, but deciding on the right hybrid business model makes a lot of difference when establishing rules and norms.
2. You need a lot of clarity
There are a lot of unknowns when you first announce a hybrid workplace. Does everyone need to be in the office on the same days? Does everyone still work the same hours? Will the company pay for co-working locations, or home-office improvements? The deeper you get into hybrid, the more questions you might discover.
3. You feel like you have two sets of rules
Working with everyone either in-office or distributed means everyone follows the same rules. But in hybrid work, you have both going on at the same time. What if some people are in the office while others are at home? Does that change what collaboration tools you use? Or what the rules are about having your video on during meetings? What if some on the team want to come every day and others only want to come once a week? Will you end up with two sets of cultures?
4. Will people get treated equally?
If the boss is in the office, it’s likely that she will unconsciously favor those who are also in the office. They will get more context, share less with remote workers, have more access to leadership development, get more assignments, and more.
To pull off an equitable hybrid work model, you need to recognize this disadvantage and prepare against it.
Ready to go hybrid?
Technology has a way of hooking us in. Once we incorporate certain devices, software or applications into our daily lives, it’s hard to go back. Digital workplaces are kind of like that. Now that we’re used to the benefits, working at an office will never feel the same. But there are hybrid model advantages and disadvantages.
Hybrid workplaces fuse the best aspects of shared office environments and remote working – but it’s not easy to develop a strategy that suits everyone. Some questions to ask include:
- How many days should employees be expected to come to the office?
- Are there specific hours?
- Does everyone have to come in the same number of days?
- Should specific teams be in the office on the same days?
- Does each person have their own desk?
Check out more of our resources around hybrid work to learn more.
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
Now that everyone has been working away from the office for over a year, some managers are considering opening up their offices again.
The big question is WHY.
Why make everyone come back into the office after workflows and processes were streamlined offsite?
Why force employees to start commuting again?
Why increase office costs like supplies, utilities, and equipment?
There are a lot of good answers. A physical office creates higher fidelity conversations, facilitates faster decisions, and creates more spontaneous interactions that can lead to innovation. Energy is more palpable in a physical office than a completely digital space.
There’s a reason why co-working spaces are so popular – they give freelancers a way to socialize with like-minded people in an environment fused with similar energy.
Hybrid offices (try to) blend the best of both worlds
Is it possible to get the benefits of remote work and also the in-office experience? What are the hybrid model advantages and disadvantages?
In our heads, the hybrid model seems to work well. A typical work week is five days long. We don’t need to be in the office all of those days, right? What if you allowed remote work for one, two, or three of those days? That would still allow for time in office with others, but still get some of the advantages of remote work.
Let’s look at several of the advantages of the hybrid model.
5 hybrid workplace advantages
1. Cost savings
File this one under “mileage may vary”, but most organizations should see a net cost savings by shifting to hybrid.
Potential savings can come from:
- Reduced need for office space, physical supplies, etc.
- Increased employee retention
Employees should also save on transportation, clothing, and meals.
However, there are expenses that come with hybrid work. These can include:
- Maintaining an office big enough for everyone to come to at once
- Equipping home offices
- New investments in technology for better hybrid meetings and collaboration
The end result should be savings across the board, but you may not realize it for several months.
2. Team members are happier
Having the flexibility to work outside the office is a great choice for nearly everyone. When working from home, or a co-working space, team members might have a more relaxing morning routine, and not walk into the office with the stress of the commute.
Seeing everyone in person can help with social wellbeing as well and create strong bonds, even if it isn’t every day.
Stress is contagious, and reducing the stress in your team members’ lives is a great way to make sure you stay healthy and happy.
When the day starts positively, everything else just flows better. And that makes for a much happier workforce overall.
3. Employee relationships improve
Even the best of friends can get on each other’s nerves when they’re around each other all the time. That’s why seeing the same people day-in and day-out can be stressful – especially when they aren’t exactly our friends.
For many of us, the relationships we have with our workmates can be some of the most constructive because they force us to learn how to compromise (and practice anger-management skills!). At the same time, there is a lot of pressure because we depend on each other.
We might give our friends and family members “breaks” for bad behavior, but with co-workers it’s different. It’s easy to forget that our workmates are people as well. Some might be going through major relationship challenges, dealing with health issues, or having other serious problems they don’t discuss openly.
Everyone is going through something at any given point in time – it’s part of the human experience! At the very least, working from home can take some of the pressure off a stressful environment and contribute to better relationships at the workplace.
4. Workplace productivity improves
Did you know that productivity actually goes up when employees work from home? A California-based company observed a 47% increase in productivity when tracking workers without using invasive technology like spyware or keystroke loggers.
This intuitively makes sense on some level because remote working has so many benefits. The productivity-enhancing aspects of working from home – like having our own quiet workspace and taking multiple breaks when we need them – just aren’t the same in a shared office environment.
5. Digital workplaces improve efficiency
The last year has seen a staggering rise in the use of managed IT services that included cloud-based infrastructure and software. This was made possible by the rushed need for remote work solutions brought on by COVID-19 restrictions, and it can be argued that similar investments might have taken years during “normal” circumstances.
Employees can now work securely from any location. On top of that, integrations between software systems have improved workflows, reduced redundant tasks, and improved collaboration for greater overall efficiency.
The big hybrid model disadvantages
Hybrid seems like an easy answer, but there’s always a catch, right?
1. You have to pick a model
Are you adding the office to your remote model, or are you adding remote flexibility to your office model? It may seem like a small point, but deciding on the right hybrid business model makes a lot of difference when establishing rules and norms.
2. You need a lot of clarity
There are a lot of unknowns when you first announce a hybrid workplace. Does everyone need to be in the office on the same days? Does everyone still work the same hours? Will the company pay for co-working locations, or home-office improvements? The deeper you get into hybrid, the more questions you might discover.
3. You feel like you have two sets of rules
Working with everyone either in-office or distributed means everyone follows the same rules. But in hybrid work, you have both going on at the same time. What if some people are in the office while others are at home? Does that change what collaboration tools you use? Or what the rules are about having your video on during meetings? What if some on the team want to come every day and others only want to come once a week? Will you end up with two sets of cultures?
4. Will people get treated equally?
If the boss is in the office, it’s likely that she will unconsciously favor those who are also in the office. They will get more context, share less with remote workers, have more access to leadership development, get more assignments, and more.
To pull off an equitable hybrid work model, you need to recognize this disadvantage and prepare against it.
Ready to go hybrid?
Technology has a way of hooking us in. Once we incorporate certain devices, software or applications into our daily lives, it’s hard to go back. Digital workplaces are kind of like that. Now that we’re used to the benefits, working at an office will never feel the same. But there are hybrid model advantages and disadvantages.
Hybrid workplaces fuse the best aspects of shared office environments and remote working – but it’s not easy to develop a strategy that suits everyone. Some questions to ask include:
- How many days should employees be expected to come to the office?
- Are there specific hours?
- Does everyone have to come in the same number of days?
- Should specific teams be in the office on the same days?
- Does each person have their own desk?
Check out more of our resources around hybrid work to learn more.
Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash
