Weekly Hybrid Work Digest: Brian Chesky on hybrid work, Google’s approach to hybrid, building a management culture

For a few months, the pandemic has been under control, encouraging team leaders to come back to in-person meetings and office work. In the post-pandemic world, hybrid work — a mix of office and remote work — is the new trend.

Find out how companies adapt to hybrid, which lessons they learn, and the challenges they have to overcome in the latest episode of our hybrid work digest.

This time, you will find out:

• What the CEO of Airbnb thinks about the future of hybrid work
• How Google tweaked its Workspace suite to meet the needs of hybrid teams
• How to manage synchronous and asynchronous communication
• How hybrid work helps deter climate change
• And more

Follow our blog to get weekly updates on hybrid work transition and actionable tips on team management and leadership.

Latest news

1. Google tweaks its products for hybrid work

Last week, the tech giant updated its suite of productivity tools to give organizations more connectivity and control in hybrid work environments. By tweaking its Workspace suite, the company recognized the need to adapt to work style changes.

2. New interview from Airbnb’s Brian Chesky on hybrid work

According to the new interview with Airbnb’s CEO, he has anticipated the inefficiency of rotating WFH-office days for a long time. In his opinion, meeting up once a quarter or a month to hang out and brainstorm is a better version of hybrid work.

3. 25% of bankers are facing burnout because of hybrid work

Though hybrid can hold its ground both to all-remote and all-office work, for some industries it’s not working as well as for others. A survey among banking professionals reveals high risks of burn-out — and hybrid work is to blame.

4. Cisco rethinks office design for hybrid work friendliness

The company has flipped the understanding of what an office is. Where it used to be designed with 70% individual and 30% collaborative work in mind, it is now the opposite. The space focuses on creativity, interaction, and fostering employee well-being.

Opinions

1. Apple has all the ingredients for successful remote work — why doesn’t it use them?

How come Apple, a company enabling millions of people with tech infrastructure to support work from home, wants its team in the office so badly? Both the company’s decision to drag everyone back to in-person work and the communication around it was terrible — here’s why it failed.

2. Hybrid work is the next climate plan frontier

At the beginning of the pandemic, everyone hoped that remote work will alleviate the damage of climate change. It didn’t so companies are looking for new ways to combine productivity and sustainability. A lot of them are reasonably betting on hybrid work.

3. Building connection in the era of hybrid work | Google Cloud

As Google Cloud unveils its Workspace features, it shares insight with team leaders on using technology to manage hybrid teams.

4. The hybrid work divide: managers think tech is the answer

The manager-employee disconnect is strong in all aspects of hybrid work transition. Where managers want to know when employees are coming to offices, teams don’t want to deal with extra pressure. Where executives invest in conferencing tools and VPNs, employees worry about the corporate culture. Find out how tech can help bridge the gap.

5. Hybrid working won’t stick

“Face-to-face collaboration is necessary for productive and fulfilling work” is the statement we’ve heard from team leaders toom many times. The question is — is it factually true? Is there a case for office return?

Tips and hacks

1. Buying a computer for remote work: what to know

Whether you are an employee working from home or a manager setting up work stations or a WFH team, knowing your way around affordable and remote-work-friendly hardware is a must. Here’s a review of affordable computers that meet the needs of remote workers.

2. Creating a good management culture in hybrid teams

Hybrid team managers can’t count on many traditional tools, like connecting with teams in-person and building an effortless connection. That’s why they have to go the extra mile and create new practices for a healthy communication culture.

3. Guide to synchronous and asynchronous communication

In our new post, we delve deeper into synchronous and asynchronous communication as seen by remote and hybrid teams. We explore the ways to balance both and share tips on making the most of these interactions.

The hybrid work digest was brought to you by oVice — a frontrunner in hybrid work adoption. We help teams painlessly transition to hybrid work by setting up virtual offices — spaces where employees can interact with each other and build long-lasting relationships without having to commute or leave their homes.

At the moment, oVice has over 20,000 clients worldwide. Over 1,000,000 employees use our virtual spaces to build strong management cultures, stay connected and fulfilled at work.