Going Hybrid Is The Future Of Work In 2021
The majority of the working force is still in two minds about going back to the pre-pandemic, 9–5 office lifestyle. With COVID-19 being declared a global pandemic in March of 2020, global IT giants like Google were one of the first companies to tell their people to work from home. This paved the way for other companies to give their employees the green light to work remotely as well.
16 months later, all of us have gotten used to logging into meetings in our sweatpants. Keeping flexible working hours, making the couch your office space, doing away with long commutes to work and your pet who is ostensibly the coworker, sitting in the adjacent cubicle. On the other hand, ‘Zoom Fatigue’ got very real with 22% of developers saying incessant meetings heavily affect their productivity, in a recent survey by HackerEarth. Another roadblock to working from home is the lack of human interaction. After a certain amount of time, your teammates tend to turn into tiny icons on a screen.
Some of us have taken to working from home while others miss their in-person meetings and colleagues. The decisions of why and how to bring employees back into the workplace need to be made by the company leaders, but a majority of the employees want the best of both worlds — in other words, a hybrid model that will include a blend of remote work and going back to the office.
2021 has made it clear that the future of work is hybrid
The second wave of the pandemic put a halt to the upward hiring curve as well as the shift back to the office. A few companies were gearing for the great return to the workplace by May, but the situation quickly turned grim with the rising numbers of coronavirus cases. While 100% of the employees returning to the office will take time, it is unfeasible for companies to keep their office spaces vacant for so long.
One option would be to open offices for a small percentage of their employees and ensure a hybrid work environment for others unwilling to come back to the office. According to Microsoft’s 2201 Report, 73% of employees surveyed expressed a desire for flexible remote work options post pandemic, and 66% of businesses said they were considering redesigning physical spaces to better accommodate hybrid work environments.
Benefits of hybrid workplaces
- Higher productivity and better workplace outcomes
- Reducing operational costs and cutting down physical office space
- Positive impact on employee satisfaction and experience
3 strategies to make the shift to hybrid workplaces
- Empower employees for flexibility
At the core of hybrid workspaces is the ability for employees to combine working from home with working from an office or a third-party location like a cafe or a library. The onus falls on organizations to create a plan that keeps the employee needs at the center and also, factors in answers to critical questions like, “Who will be able to work remotely,” “Who will need to come to the office,” “How to bring about collaborative work” and so on. Tech leaders like Google and Microsoft have some plans in place to open satellite offices closer to the people living far away from the company headquarters. This enables employees to get out of their homes for a couple of days and work from these smaller offices.
- Invest in technology to bridge the gap between physical and virtual workplaces
The last year taught us how to handle things when the entire workforce was working remotely. But what happens when some people are back in the office while others are scattered across the country? Along with revamping physical office spaces, companies need to enable their people to be able to work from home, in the office, and on-the-go, by investing in the right technology. Create inclusive meeting experiences where everyone can contribute regardless of their location.
- Focus on employee experience
It has taken the pandemic to show that when employees gain the flexibility, control, and resources they yearn for, they can do wonders. Companies benefit from higher productivity, loyalty, and engagement. Rethink employee experience in terms of onboarding new hires, providing adequate learning and development opportunities, and allowing for a better work-life balance. All these processes need to be turned on their head to retain as well as attract top talent, and improve the bottom line of your company. Fostering connections and making your employees feel included will go a long way in making a hybrid workplace successful.
The past year has proved that work can be done from anywhere without compromising on the results sans lengthy commutes and 9–5 schedules. A fine balance between remote work and going back to the office will be the mantra of successful companies in 2021.
Make the shift to hybrid workplaces already, what are you waiting for?
For more of such awesome tech blogs, hiring tips, and the latest trends, subscribe to my carefully curated monthly newsletter, The Hire Wire!
