What is the hybrid working model?

There was no official definition of ‘hybrid working model’ to be found (at least at the time this blog post was written) as every company seems to have their own definition of what this term means.

Gartner for example defines it as “Hybrid work describes a work model where employees are expected to attend the office at least one day per week while being permitted to work from a location other than the office some of the time. Hybrid work models vary; for example, offering employees the individual choice or orchestration or scheduling of days in the office for an entire organization or team. Hybrid work can sometimes refer to space, as in “hybrid workplace,” which describes an office that is able to support interactions that successfully include in-person and remote employees.”

SAP says “A hybrid workplace model mixes in-office and remote work to offer flexibility and support to employees. In a hybrid workplace, employees typically enjoy more autonomy and better work-life balance – and are more engaged as a result. Employers benefit by building a more productive, healthy, stable workforce. ”

What the two definitions above and all the others on the internet have in common is a mix of on-site people working together with remote employees and in the best case, also having the technical infrastructure to do so. Either the company defines how much remote work can be done or the employees can decide themselves when to come to the office. Unlimited solutions exist here and it highly depends on the company strategy how this is handled. While some companies were forced to offer the possibility of remote work during lockdowns and Covid-19 limited conditions and couldn’t wait to have everyone back at the office, other companies took the chance to rethink and redesign their whole working environment.

Why do people want it?

There are some people who love working from the office because they love the huzzle and buzzle at the office and it helps them to be productive and get their work done. Whereas other people prefer to work 100% remotely, but the majority of employees according to the Global hybrid work survey done by Google conducted in 2021, 75% of the respondents believe that hybrid work will be a standard practice within their organizations in the coming three years having the best of two worlds, the social components of the office and the freedom to work from home if they want to.

Can everybody do it?

Our experience @viesure has shown that everyone can do hybrid and the right technical equipment helps a lot to include the remote people in meetings and workshops. During the pandemic it wasn’t mostly the employees that struggled, but very often the managers and team leaders because they had to hold together their teams under completely changed conditions. Stanford University took that as an opportunity to offer a course called WTH does “Going Hybrid” really mean? for people who want to learn more about leading hybrid teams.

Pros and cons

The most obvious advantages for employees are the time savings due to no commuting and thus, more flexibility and a better work-life balance. They can work when and how they’re most productive which also helps the company. Companies also can extend their talent search across the globe and save costs as they need less office space.

The disadvantages are that it’s harder to collaborate and you have to put in some effort to keep it working, which leads us to the question, if hybrid really is our future working model?

The Economist survey from 2021 suggests that “broader organizational improvements are crucial to the long-term success of hybrid work, including clear communication and enhancing workplace connections”.

See below to find out more about the most important practices that resulted from that survey.

To sum it all up, the hybrid working model definitely is promising and what employees want, but effort has to be put in on both sides to make it work. So, let’s keep up with the times and shape our hybrid working environment together!

• Stanford, WTH does “Going Hybrid” really mean?
• Envoy, What is hybrid work and why do employees want it?
• Darwinbox, Hybrid Work Models: Definition, Types, Benefits, Best Practices, Challenges & Solutions
• Gartner, Hybrid Work
• SAP, What is a hybrid workplace?
• Google Workspace, Insights from our global hybrid work survey
• Economist, The new hybrid reality