Does a hybrid working environment increase productivity?

Introduction

One survey from April 2021 shows that 99% of human resources leaders expect employees to work in some kind of hybrid arrangement moving forward. Many have already begun.

As just one example, Dropbox, the file hosting service, made a permanent shift during the pandemic, allowing employees to work from home and hold team meetings in the office.

Remote work vs in the office

In the Office:

• promotes structure & transparency, which may increase trust between management and employees.
• developing an organizational culture happens naturally
• more knowledge sharing and collaborative problem solving

Remote:

• More productivity
• Employees are happier
  • Flexibility
  • Less or no commute time
•  Save on costs

5 Advantages of Hybrid Working

1. Major advantage in hiring talent as you’re not restricted by commuting distance
2. Contribution to sustainability objectives
3. Save on office costs
4. Increased productivity
   • Many companies indicate that working partly at home increased productivity both qualitatively and quantitatively, and employees get more done in the same time than before
5.  Energies Employees
   • Hybrid work allows employees to fit working with their personality and stage in life. One person might thrive off social interaction every day, while another prefers to isolate themselves while working. By offering that choice, employees have more control over the place, time, and manner in which they work and will experience less stress. They will also have more opportunities to relax while working, resulting in lower absenteeism.

Tips for a successful hybrid working environment

• Listen to your employees regularly
• Both managers and employees must be transparent in their communication and understanding of hybrid plans.
• Policies must be in place to define what tasks happen in the office and remotely.
• Access to reliable communications is essential, particularly for remote work. All employees must receive the same information at the same time, and in a timely manner. After all, whether in the office or online, workers don’t want to feel they’re the last to know.

Organisations should develop policies acknowledging the diverse needs of the workforce and flexibility should be employee-focused wherever possible to create the best outcome for workers, organisations and society.

Conclusion

In a PwC survey of executives and rank-and-file employees, conducted in January 2021, most respondents (83 percent) rated their organization’s pivot to remote work as a success. But just five percent of the executives included in the survey sample thought their company culture would survive a permanent shift to fully remote operations.

In this light, you can view the hybrid workplace as an attempt to have the best of both remote and on-site operations. Among other things, a hybrid workplace recognizes that while on-site might be ideal for some employees, remote work – at least some of the time – might better suit others in the organization.

Hybrid work models are used by 63% of high-growth companies

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