Leaders, teams, and organizations across the country are facing a similar issue: how, where, and when should work be done. Before the pandemic, only 6% of the employed worked primarily from home. About three-quarters of workers had never worked from home. In May 2020, 48.7 million people, about 35% of the employed workforce, reported that they had worked from home in the prior four weeks. (Coate, 2021) Two years later, we’re still in flux. So, how can we build a hybrid workplace that works?
In today’s post, Strong Cincinnati explains how hybrid workplaces have impacted employees and employers. Hybrid working has positives and challenges. While we won’t advocate for “one side or the other”, we will offer strengths-based ways of making a healthy working environment. We spoke with the Executive Director of Green Umbrella, Ryan Mooney-Bullock, about how her organization is navigating this Hybrid Work environment.
Advantages and Challenges of Hybrid Working
Proponents of hybrid working models tend to say they have more autonomy over where and how they work, improved well-being, and increased productivity. This autonomy and flexibility greatly impacts employee happiness.
Detractors of remote/hybrid models point to decreased workplace loyalty, potential overwork, loneliness and even, less creativity in a small study. Addressing these challenges comes down to leadership and management styles.
Also, while remote/hybrid working has risen over the past few years, over half of the American workforce has little or no opportunity for remote work. The group most likely to express few positives to remote work are chief executives. They also wield significant power over their workplace policies.
If you are a team leader or executive in a remote/hybrid model, you have an outsize impact on your team or organization’s experience.
Related Post: Use Character Strengths to Manage Staff with Different Needs.
How To Make Hybrid Work Successful
While very few organizations could succeed with a fully virtual model, a fully in-person model doesn’t work for most companies either. Due to work-life balance needs, most organizations will fall somewhere in the middle of the continuum.
The type of hybrid-working model that is right for your organization depends on many factors. A few include:
- Employee Productivity
- Access to Talent
- Workplace Experience
- Type of Work (delivery driver vs. executive assistant)
McKinsey and Company suggest “tailoring work arrangements to different segments of [your] workforce”. So, what are practical habits a leader can take?
- Create Clarity: Work Hours, Expectations, and Guidelines create a common org culture.
- Foster Psychological Safety: Purposefully create a culture where employees feel safe and comfortable.
- Keep Teams Together: Clear norms & trust-based relationships fuel productivity.
- Provide what Employees Need: Computers, Zoom Links, One-on-One Meetings, etc…
- Listen and Adjust: Make adjustments as you find out what works and what doesn’t.
Remote/Hybrid models exist on a continuum. By listening to employees, modeling honest communication, and pivoting as needed, your workplace will be successful and satisfied!
Contact Mayerson Academy for Strengths-Based Organizational Consulting
If you’re working to transform the culture of your team or organization, don’t struggle alone. Our experienced team of change-makers and consultants is dedicated to helping you and your staff succeed. Start a conversation with us to find out about Strong Cincinnati Institute, our six-session cohort-based learning experience that helps promote a positive culture shift within organizations. Connect here or call us at 513-263-2210.
Sources:
Remote Work Before, During, and After the Pandemic, Patrick Coate, NCCI, January 25, 2021
What’s Next for Remote Work, McKinsey and Company, November 23, 2020
The Loneliness of the Hybrid Worker, MITSloan Management Review, May 2, 2022
Reimagining the Post Pandemic Workforce, McKinsey and Company, July 7, 2020
Study: Remote meetings dampen brainstorming, Melanie Brucks, Nature Journal, April 27, 2022
