The coronavirus crisis has caused the global workforce to work from home like never before. During Lockdown, we saw gains in flexibility and increased autonomy, but we also saw challenges, such as the loss of social connection with colleagues, knowledge sharing and creativity.
And now the world is changing again as more workplaces consider new flexible and hybrid ways of working. The days of "a job" being something that is uniquely tied to a specific time and place are over - but the process of figuring out the hybrid workstyles of the future is just beginning.
The shift towards a more hybrid way of working can be difficult to navigate, highlighting the need for clear leadership. Research and experience suggests that flexibility needs to be managed by leadership to ensure that employees in the workplace thrive, collaborate and remain productive.
The call here is for workplaces to ask themselves some fundamental questions when testing new hybrid work models: 1) productivity, 2) individual well-being and 3) community support.
Productivity
When it comes to productivity, the key questions are: What types of jobs and tasks do we have? And what do they require in terms of knowledge sharing and collaboration? Research shows that knowledge sharing and relationships are negatively impacted as soon as we start working from home more than two days a week. If our productivity requires close knowledge sharing and collaboration - then management needs to manage this so that the hybrid working model doesn't involve a total spread of employee presence across the 5 days of the week. In other words, it will probably take some managerial courage and awareness to regulate flexibility so that productivity is adequately supported in the future.
Wellbeing
Next, it's relevant to address the central question: What employee preferences are there? In the future, we probably won't be able to separate our work from our personal lives 100%. In order to understand which ways of working are right, there is a need to engage employees in the process, using a combination of surveys and interviews to understand what they really want and need. The experienced employee who lives in their own house within commuting distance doesn't have the same need to come to work as the new hire who may even live in a smaller city apartment.
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community
The third key question is: How do we create inclusion and community in the future? As we make changes, we need to make sure that we create a foundation for the future that everyone in the company will find engaging and fair as much as possible. The best way to do this is to ensure that as many employees as possible are involved in the design process. They need to have their voices heard, to hear from others and to know that changes are not just a result of the whims and preferences of individual managers, but that the community is also taken into account. To get a good hybrid working community up and running, clear leadership is essential. Hybrid working requires structure - while flexibility is a benefit, it requires structure to maintain productivity, wellbeing and community.
Facts and figures
- Survey from the Confederation of Danish Industry shows that 8 out of 10 companies open up for more home working after Corona
- 85% of companies answered improved work-life balance as a primary reason
- 74% responded that employee retention is a reason for increased remote working options in their company.
Source: DI member survey on hybrid work, 2022.
