Hybrid work: If You’re Not Experimenting, You’re Failing

Two years ago, if you asked people to define a workday, most would have said they spend eight hours at the office, maybe with a lunch break and a commute of varying distances. That was then. Now, it has all changed—where people work, the hours they work, how they interact with coworkers and how they balance life challenges.

Here is the new reality of today’s world of work. Companies need to experiment with flexible work arrangements or risk losing employees to the companies that do.

“If companies don’t have at least one test, and they’re not doing something different than they did before, they’re failing to truly understand the nature of the changed workforce,” said Greg Barnett, chief people scientist at Energage, a national employee survey company.

That could mean letting employees work four days a week or non-traditional hours. Companies can encourage different ways of collaborating,

find better technology and offer additional perks with new

benefits.

“Other companies will find the solutions

and, meanwhile, they will also find the talent,” Barnett said.

Hybrid work solutions—a catch-all term for flexible work arrangements—mean different things to different people. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. It varies by job role, industry and location. Every industry has, to some extent, its hybrid journey.

For example, people who work in health care, retail, construction, and education are probably less likely to work from home. Although most workers might be onsite, that does not mean everyone is. That is part of the challenge.

“People need to start thinking creatively and ask their employees, what would make your hybrid experience great,” Barnett said.

An analysis of 3 million employee surveys by Energage shows fully remote employees are more engaged in their work than fully onsite employees (59 percent vs. 52 percent). Not surprisingly, senior leaders prefer to be onsite, while team members prefer to be remote.

Especially during this tight labor market,

employees want more choices. This is why employers need to understand the needs and wants of workers. As companies expect workers to return to the office, will some employees refuse to resume a long daily commute?

Employers also need to understand the cost and benefits of remote work. Who can work from home and who cannot? What is the price of bringing workers into the office versus letting them stay

at home?

Organizations that advocate for people to come back onsite should be thinking about goals. How will they take advantage of an investment in their infrastructure? Is the goal higher productivity, more innovation, or greater inclusion? Employers should be targeting the actual things about which they are most concerned.

If organizations do care about work-life balance, people not

burning out and remaining engaged, they need to think about what behavior they reward, including compensation and promotions.

Today, companies need to be courageous enough to say what

worked in the past does not work anymore.

Photo by Kornél Máhl on Unsplash Companies need to experiment with flexible work arrangements or risk losing employees to the companies that do.