Hybrid working has become the new norm for many people working across the globe.
What is Hybrid Working?
Hybrid working is when employers permit their employees to work in various places, whether from home, at the office, or in public spaces, to complete their work.
The hybrid working model allows employees to create a better work-life balance, and may also;
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Boost performance
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Enhance Productivity
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Encourage collaboration
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Build trust between employers and workers
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Increase job satisfaction and mental health
While people needed to work from home during the pandemic, it allowed many companies and employees to see whether working at home could work for them. And whether it could be something of a permanent fixture.
A few interesting statistics gathered by Great Place to Work reveal some employees’ thoughts on working remotely versus returning to their usual role in the workplace.
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91% of those surveyed liked some elements of working from home
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88% would like to spend some time working remotely
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30% were keen to return to the workplace
With the above information in mind, before committing to a hybrid working model for your business, there are a few other things to consider regarding communication, employees’ mental health, and rules for hybrid workers first.
The Rules of Hybrid Working
Distinguish what hybrid working means for your business, so that employees know what’s expected of them and the company. For example, by determining appropriate work locations and core working hours.
For instance, HR employees who regularly handle confidential employee information, such as income and addresses on tax forms should be advised not to work in public places or use public Wi-Fi. In turn, avoiding important company data being seen, heard, or stolen by people nearby.
Equally identifying whether there are core working hours for the business is paramount to ensure employees conduct their work within those timeframes.
Find the Best Way for Staff to Communicate
Picture by Anna Shvets from Pexels
Communication is a compulsory element to figure out before initiating a permanent hybrid working regime.
If employees are unaware of how to best communicate, it can quickly damage multiple processes in the business. Leading to a poor flow of important information between workers inside and outside the workspace.
The communication channel a business will use depends on the industry and scale of the company. But, as a whole, it’s wise to consider providing training to staff on a specific online communication tool, such as Slack or Zoom, to conduct all meetings and conversations.
Mental Health at Work
While some employees may thrive working from home. Others may feel isolated. As such, considering and monitoring how hybrid working impacts employees is important.
Management can do this by regularly setting up one-to-one meetings to discuss how staff are finding hybrid working and whether they have any concerns.
Other suggestions for supporting employees include training employees on how to create healthy working habits at home and in the office. Moreover, instructing management to be patient and understanding while employees adapt to a hybrid working regime
According to the Harvard business review;
“Moving to an anywhere, anytime hybrid model will succeed only if it is designed with human concerns in mind, not just institutional ones.”
Therefore, employers and managers should keep the interests of employees at the forefront when creating a hybrid working regime. Because putting the needs of the business first and employees last could be detrimental to the institution’s success in adopting a flexible working system.
Picture by Pavil Danilyuk from Pexels
The key takeaways from this article are as follows;
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Define what hybrid working means in your company and for your employees
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Pick a platform for employees in and outside the office to use
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Be mindful of each employee’s mental health during flexible working
