Hybrid Working – Things You Need To Know

Hybrid working allows employees to enjoy the benefits of both working from home and working in the office. Since the year 2020, we’ve seen a massive increase in this way of working. It was traditionally favoured by smaller tech companies but is now popular across a huge range of industries.

Switching to this model of working is hugely beneficial to both employers and employees and we are going to look at some of the pros and cons, as well as different types of hybrid working.

Pros of home working

Work-life balance – Working from home, at least part of the week, helps employees improve their work-life balance. From receiving parcels to being around for tradespeople, working from home gives employees more freedom to arrange things around important work tasks.
Lack of commute – Without the stress, cost and time spent commuting to and from work, employees are less stressed when they begin work and make better use of their time.
Freedom – Employees have more freedom to choose when and where they work.
Productivity – Without the pressures that can come with traditional ways of working, employees say they feel more productive.

Cons of home working

Access to work resources – They may be small fry, but they do add up. Tea, coffee, notebooks, heating, electricity, office chairs etc.
Team collaboration & culture – Both are hard to achieve without physically being in the same space and require a bit more effort when managed remotely.
Disruption – It can be tempting to pop a load of washing in or mow the lawn on your lunch break but it’s important to remain disciplined. Work processes can also be disrupted by not being able to pop over and speak to someone face to face.
Work schedules – With individual freedom also comes difficulty to coordinate schedules.

Pros of office working

Belonging & relationships – working in the office can foster a sense of belonging. You have comradery with your colleagues and can build meaningful connections more easily.
Productivity – I know, we mentioned this in the home working list, but for some, working in the office is a more focused environment and helps people switch into ‘work mode’.
Onboarding – Onboarding new team members can be much easier in an office environment. They get to know the team faster, know who to speak to and you can oversee how they are settling in much easier.
Collaboration – Physically being in the same space as others helps promote collaboration

Cons of office working

Inflexible – When you’re in the office there is more of a requirement to conform to a standard timetable.
Commute – This one cannot be ignored. For some, the daily commute can be stressful, expensive and long.
Exposure to illness – Now a few years ago, we probably wouldn’t have given this that much thought, but since COVID we know how quickly and easily viral infections can spread in an office space or on the bus/train.
Conformity – From the way you dress, to what you eat, to how you perform certain tasks, you’re far more likely to feel the need to conform in the office which might dampen your creativity.

So we can see from the above that there are definitely some benefits to a combination of homework and office work.

Types of Hybrid Working

If you’re introducing hybrid working, there are a few different ways you can do this. It’s important to find a way that benefits your employees and your business without impacting your customers.

At-Will Working

This way of hybrid working allows employees to make the decision based on their own individual needs and wants. Those who work best in the office, they have a space to do so. Those who work best at home, don’t feel pressured to come in. This really is an employee focussed model and it sounds like an ideal setup, but there are definitely some drawbacks. Not knowing where people are going to be from day to day can cause confusion and a feeling of disorganisation. Your office can either feel overcrowded or under-utilised which can be expensive for organisations and demotivating for employees. On the plus side, organisations can hire workers who live further away so they aren’t bound by location.

Office-First

While not too dissimilar to the above, an office-first model means employees are required to be in the office more days than they are at home. This is probably the easiest and quickest model to implement as it doesn’t require much setup other than some new policies. This makes arranging meetings and working collaboratively much easier. As it’s a more traditional way of working, employees will need to live nearby and be able to commute 3-4 times per week.

Remote-First

Employees only have access to office space 1-2 days per week, in some cases. This helps prevent overcrowding in the office but can mean that it’s harder to work with the individuals you want/need to. This can be great for those who prefer working from home but also like the social element of office-based work. Employers can use smaller office space but it can be more difficult when onboarding new employees.

Split-Week

Split week involves having certain days you require everyone onsite. For example, you may say everyone must be in every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. This helps your team plan their work-from-home days, and embrace some of the pros of working from home while also maintaining the benefits of office-based work. It’s much easier to arrange face-to-face meetings or natural collaboration work. This also helps build strong relationships and has a sense of reliability. It can be more difficult to find an office setup that accommodates this.

Workload Based

This way of working involves management making a decision based on the current workload. This can be very tricky to manage as you can’t plan your weeks in advance. Employees will need to be able to be very flexible which can be expensive if relying on public transport or parking passes. It can also be expensive if you have your own office as it will be under utilised. If you don’t have an office, you’ll be relying on finding last-minute workspaces for your team for an unknown period of time.

Team Division

You might find that you don’t need all teams to be working in the office at the same time. Perhaps you need strategy teams in on Mondays and sales teams on Wednesdays. In some cases, you may have teams that could work fully remotely, but it feels unfair if you do have teams you need onsite. This can cause friction between departments but can be much easier to manage from an operational point of view. You won’t need as much office space and your team will know when and where they need to be in advance.

What does all this mean?

There are so many different ways of working and the one that works best for you, might not work so well for individuals on your team. If you are going to implement a hybrid way of working, you need to be able to identify the best way to do this. Individual preferences need to be taken into account, but also office costs. Running your own office which is either overcrowded or under used can be expensive and demoralising. Organisations need to be able to manage their overheads which is why flexible workspaces are great to help you achieve your hybrid model. In most coworking spaces, you can have a combination of dedicated desks and hot desking. This allows your team to flex throughout the week and means you only pay for the space you actually use. Unused desks aren’t your concern. Utilities and office perks are no longer your responsibility. It can be great for staff morale as they can meet and work with different organisations, they can feel a part of a community as well as your own organisation.

There are many different types of coworking spaces so spend time finding out which one suits your needs.