How hybrid working has changed work for good

Learn about the key changes hybrid working has brought to the workplace – and why hybrid working is the future. 

Hybrid working changes: Key insights

Covid-19 strong-armed organisations into changing the way they operate. Businesses everywhere changed how and where they worked to retain productivity in a crisis. Now, we’ve seen the benefits that hybrid working can bring. 

For many companies, there’s no going back. The future of work will be ‘hybrid’. In this blog, we’ll explore the reasons why hybrid working patterns are here to stay, including:

• Improved employee wellbeing
• Technical innovation
• Remote collaboration
• Greater inclusion and diversity
• An improved work-life balance.

Before we dive deeper into hybrid working changes, let’s look at the back story.

Hybrid working: Background

Hybrid working is an approach to staffing involving a mix of remote, semi-remote and entirely office-based employees. Those employees may potentially work to different scheduled hours – and even be in vastly different time zones. 

Hybrid working means that the entire team will probably never be in the workplace at once. Staff may work rotationally or be based entirely at home or on-site. The choice of location depends on what works best for the individual and the organisation.

How has hybrid working already impacted businesses? Here are five key changes that hybrid working has already made to the modern workplace.

1. Hybrid working can increase employee wellbeing

Already, hybrid working has impacted remote workers. Commuters, for example, see a reduced reliance on public transport, helping lower monthly costs and reduce time spent travelling. 

Hybrid working can also help reduce stress and improve health – 59% of employers say hybrid working benefitted their team’s overall well-being.

2. Hybrid working has helped improve technical infrastructure

Large-scale hybrid working puts pressure on companies to invest in digital collaboration tools and new hardware. While some organisations already had well-established remote working systems before the pandemic, many were forced to adopt them. 

For some businesses, hybrid working has forced them to embrace exciting, profitable and forward-thinking technologies. Without hybrid working, many could still be stuck with legacy systems.

3. Hybrid teams collaborate differently

Conventional meeting structures are ineffective in a hybrid working environment. Key stakeholders won’t typically all be in the same place at the same time, meaning more efficient meetings have become the norm. 

Likewise, digital collaboration tools, such as Microsoft Teams, are now essential to teamwork. By embracing collaboration tools, teams can now work together without distractions, making more time count.

4. Hybrid working can improve the work-life balance

Less time commuting and more time with family has meant many hybrid workers see an improved work-life balance. In fact, 78% of hybrid workers say the remote aspect of their jobs has benefitted their quality of life.

But splitting remote and on-site working can blur the lines between work and home. Employees can find themselves working longer at home, or checking emails at all hours of the day. Encourage your staff to prioritise their work-life balance by drawing a line between work and everything else.

5. Hybrid working can improve diversity and inclusion

Hybrid working opens up access to a much larger talent pool. With this, companies have a range of more diverse candidates for each role. With collaboration tools, colleagues can also be included in various work or social events.

However, there are also hurdles. If some workers are in the workplace more often than others, there’s the risk that not everybody could be included in important decisions. They may miss key department updates or team-building events. Make sure to closely monitor that hybrid working is a positive experience for all.

Hybrid working changes: Next steps for your business

Hybrid working is the future. We’ve already seen it change modern workplaces in a short space of time. The challenge for managers and leaders is to make sure all team members are engaged, included, and healthy.

At Hays, we created our How to lead a hybrid team training course specifically to support managers leading hybrid teams. The content will help your leaders succeed in building an efficient, inclusive and productive hybrid team. Sign your managers up today.