The Future of Work (Part 1): What is Hybrid Working?

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COVID-19 has permanently transformed the way we work. During the pandemic, organizations were forced to transition to full-time remote or hybrid work models to ensure employee safety. In the post-pandemic era, we have witnessed a shift in attitude towards this new way of working, with an overwhelming 83% of employees worldwide expressing their preferences for hybrid working. Moreover, 85% of them also stated that they would remain working for corporations that allow them to be productive anywhere.

In response to this monumental shift, over two-thirds of high-growth organizations have shifted to a work-from-anywhere model, embracing the need for flexibility while maintaining the essence of work culture and community. Hybrid working is the optimal middle-ground solution to address the future of work.

In this first part of the series ‘The future of work’, Workden aims to shed light on the nuances of this work model, successfully adopt this ‘new normal' way of working.

What is hybrid working?

The Hybrid work model allows employees to work some days in-office and other days remotely from anywhere (be it from home, cafes, coworking spaces and so on.)

Hybrid working can take different forms depending on the organizations, the type of work being done and the individual teams within them.

There is no doubt that hybrid working is the hottest trend as corporations are planning for a long-term transition to such a work model. Corporations need to listen and cater to the desire of their workforce to retain such talents.

What are the four archetypes of hybrid working?

Each organization operates differently and thus can customize the hybrid working concept to their preferences and needs. As technology is ever-evolving, we can expect innovative and creative changes to how and where people work. For the time being, here are the four most common variants that organizations are currently implementing.

Office-first hybrid working

Organizations implementing this arrangement require employees to work onsite most of the time and allow them one or two days per week or several days per month to work remotely. Remote days can be granted on a case-by-case basis or employees can arrange their schedule, depending on the flexibility of the organizations.

This arrangement is most suitable for organizations that have a combination of both activities needing face-to-face interactions (e.g. meetings and lunches with clients, large team meetings, etc.) and quieter interactions (e.g. preparing presentations, analyzing data, writing reports etc.)

Partly remote hybrid working

This arrangement allows certain teams to work remotely while others are office-bound. For instance, the content and development team can be remote as opposed to the sales team working in person due to client face-to-face interactions.

This arrangement would be best for organizations seeking to expand geographically beyond their physical premises to attract non-local talent or access more dispersed customers.

Flexible hybrid working

Employees working for organizations that adopt a flexible hybrid working truly have the call to work in the office or work from anywhere all the time. Those who come to the office can use any desk available as there is often no designated workspace.

Remote-first hybrid working

Employees clock in via the internet by default and can occasionally get together at the office or coworking spaces for team building, collaboration or training. In this arrangement, the organizations may not even have an office space.

Whether the organizations opt for more office-bound or completely virtual arrangements, the key emphasis here is on the outcomes delivered instead of the location and hours worked.  

Now that we have a clearer understanding of this new way of working, it is crucial to weigh out the pros and cons of implementing this work model in your organization. Good thing is we got you covered, check out this article here. 

Managing a hybrid workforce? Check out Workden for flexible, on-demand private workspace for you and your team to focus and innovate without ever needing a lease.