There’s no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to re-evaluate the way they operate. For some, the shift to remote working has been a success, with employees proving that they can be just as productive outside of the office as inside. However, there are also challenges that come with this new way of working, and as we enter a new phase of the pandemic, businesses are faced with the question of whether to return to the office or continue with remote working.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, and it will ultimately come down to what works best for your business. However, these factors may influence your decision.

Top 7 Benefits of Hybrid Workplaces

If you are a business leader considering a hybrid workplace, here are the top seven benefits you should know about:

1. Balance / Employee Satisfaction
   Greatly-reduced commuting time provides more time for individual interests and pursuits. Increasing numbers of online collaboration tools pave the way for timely interaction. 
2. Less emphasis on facades
   The status of workwear brands has taken a back seat to the ability to create and produce in a timely fashion.
3. Positive Impact on mental health
   WFH can provide the space many people need during critical times of crises.
4. Increased competitiveness in the talent war
   When flexibility is at the core of organizations, it attracts those who ‘make things happen’ in their own way. They seek empowerment, trust and ownership and are repelled by a supervised timetabled approach. 
5. Increased Productivity
   Less distraction and/or office politics reduces the chance of diluted productivity. 
6. Reduced FFE business costs
   Furniture, fixtures and fittings were previously an essential asset, yet now can be downsized.
7. Shift in operating culture
   Micromanagement is dying a natural demise, paving the way for trust and empowerment

There is an 8^th research-based benefit, ‘hot off the press’ at the time of publishing this blog post, as shared by @Siobhan Morrin, Editor of LinkedIN, July 2022. Morrin quotes research from Stanford University: 

“Hybrid work arrangements make people less likely to quit, research shows. Nicholas Bloom, remote work expert at Stanford University in the US, says quit rates are down and satisfaction is higher at a range of global firms that offer hybrid work options, with attrition falling 35% at one tech firm. Surveys have shown that workers prefer hybrid work, citing benefits such as less frequent commuting and better work-life balance. It’s these advantages that lead Bloom to believe hybrid work will thrive, even in the face of economic downturn.“

CHALLENGES FOR HYBRID WORKPLACES

Challenges always accompany any major change: resistance to change, changing structure, resourcing and policy requirements, the need for ever-evolving training and support, along with the probability of unforeseen problems and reactions. These ‘mountains’ have been climbed in many differing change contexts previously, and therefore will also be able to be navigated for the ‘to hybrid or not to hybrid’ argument with a little thinking, exploring and planning. There’s absolutely no reason these challenges should become insurmountable barriers for this current ‘hybrid’ issue.

The bottom line is that the decision to move to a hybrid workplace is not one to be taken lightly. It’s a complex challenge that requires careful planning, thoughtful execution, and – perhaps most importantly – strong leadership that allows people their freedom, and moment to shine. Are you up for the task?

We help organizations build their hybrid workplace

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An appreciation of credibility can deepen when comparing it to watching television. Relaxing in front of a television while noticing the actor’s mouth is moving yet the words are heard 2 seconds later is enough to make me jump out of my chair and turn the set off; it’s just not serving in the way I expect it to. Similarly, when the opposite occurs with visual and the audio being in sync, I trust the television unit, the actors, the show and all that it encompasses.  The former example is fraught with a lack of credibility, yet the latter exudes credibility.

According to Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, co-authors of The Leadership Challenge®, as the world falls deeper into economic downturns and conflicts, as communities become more heatedly partisan and as many workplaces show growing signs of disengagement, issues of credibility remain front and central.

 Credibility is the currency of effective leadership. Currencies stay strong when the market is active, the environment is robust, and the people are confident. Currencies weaken when the market weakens, becomes inconsistent and people have no idea what the future holds. In times of turbulence and change, leaders create psychological safety, wellness and stability through the virtue of credibility.

Ponder:

1. When have you said one thing, and done another?
2. Why did you feel that was acceptable? (Remember: others deposit or withdraw from their ‘trust’ account based on your actions)
3. On a daily basis, how often do you check your ‘credibility balance’, and if decreasing, how proactive are you in turning that around?

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What if we had leadership-at-all-levels of organizations? What if everyone took steps to change what is no longer serving?

If this really was the reality of the workplace, we would surely have living and breathing organizations, evolving continuously with the help of all. 

What is needed for that to happen?

Connection

Connection breeds productivity. In healthy organizations, connection is evident in the relationships between people, a need to work at personal bests, a desire for progress, active and authentic inclusion of all stakeholders, one shared focus and loads of stories that demonstrate contribution to 

Sound like utopia? Not really.

It can exist, with:

• Ownership

Ownership is the outcome of involvement. Involvement breeds trust, belief and commonality. Great leaders nurture this from the outset.

• Environment

Common languages, behaviors and expectations are at the core of inspiring work environments. They encourage an appreciation of ‘if I do this, what will it impact’, enabling all into a heightened state of intention and awareness.

• Co-Focus

Efforts and stories revolve around the same exciting future, one that brings hope.

People are crying out for more connection in the workplace; it’s the antithesis of a legacy where working in isolation prevails, a win vs lose attitude exists, hierarchies that reward few both thrives and separates the masses while #mediocrity rules. 

It’s the only way to move beyond a group of disparate individuals to a co-joined, self-correcting, relevant and ever-changing entity.

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