After over 2 years of working remotely or hybrid, you would think we would have the terminology pretty well locked down. Remote is less complicated, but hybrid means different things to different people. And unfortunately, it gets tossed around like the gospel without really defining it. Hybrid is not just about where and when you are working, it is also about how.
Before you’re going to say that you’re going hybrid, think about what that means. For many companies, that means we just keep doing things the way that we’ve been doing them, but we’re going to not come to the office all that often. This is a recipe for disaster.
As an example, If you have the same expectations for people in the office, as you do at home, you’re suddenly setting up a caste system for those who come into the office more versus those that don’t. This can create proximity bias. Things don’t work the same way when you are working remotely. The work is more asynchronous, and there are often other responsibilities that need to be addressed. Many working women have an elevated level of responsibility for the raising of children. This will typically result in women being in the office less than men, and often results in discrimination.
Ensuring Hybrid Success
The way to ensure success with your hybrid approach is to make sure that you look at your processes as part of your hybrid strategy. Don’t assume that work being done at home is done the same way in the office. However, you can assume that work being done at home would be done the same in the office. Looking at all work through the lens of being remote will help you have better processes and practices. This applies to those working remotely as well as those people that come into the office.
Scheduling
If you’re going to have a hybrid office, look at the way people interact first. Don’t schedule by alternating cubicle rows, seniority, or some alphabetical formula. Try to organize around teams if possible. If you don’t have a plan, things will take on a life of their own that may or may not meet the needs of the business. Some people will choose to come on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and enjoy the flexibility of a longer weekend at home. Others may prefer to come on Mondays and Fridays. This creates some interesting dichotomies because Mondays and Fridays tend to be the least attended days for hybrid workers. There will be people who enjoy that because there’s nobody there to bother them, which sort of defeats the purpose.
So what’s the purpose of coming into the office In the first place? It’s not just because somebody has a desk and a computer there. The office should be for collaboration and meaningful work that can’t be done remotely. When planning out any hybrid work, look at it in terms of the whole team. Does the whole team need to be there? You want to have some meaning behind whatever your hybrid schedule is. So whether it’s one, two, or three days in the office, have a strategy that makes sense for everyone. You don’t want to simply be juggling, or guessing at, who’s there. Sooner or later the question of why we have all these empty desks will come up. Ultimately, you need to look at your space requirements.
Unused Office Space
Why do you have an office space that accommodates 100 people when you’re never going to have more than 50 in the office at the same time? It doesn’t make any sense. Historically people are used to having their own space and not sharing, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We share cars with Lyft and Uber and we share homes on Airbnb and VRBO. Why not desks?
The average in-office employee can cost between $13,000 and $18,000 per year in space-related expenses. If you can cut your physical footprint by 50% You’re likely to save between 30 and 40% on your total operating expenses. Cost and space unfortunately don’t scale down one for one. You also need systems to account for managing shared space such as workipelago. This is something you didn’t have to contend with when everybody has their desk, but it ultimately saves money and cuts down on chaos.
Your Next Hybrid Office
Chances are the office you need and the office you have are not the same. That’s assuming you need an office at all. The future of work is going to be a combination of focused work and intentional collaboration. People will need time alone to focus, and they will need time together to collaborate. Both should be thought out and not simply defaulted to the physical footprints we worked in 3 years ago. When was the last time you had a meaningful collaboration in an office? What about during a corporate retreat? The retreat usually wins not just because it was outside the office, but because it was intentional.
Now is the time to rethink everything you thought you knew about going to the office. Come up with your definition of hybrid and make sure it reflects your business needs. Redefine your processes so they can work from anywhere. And then see what space needs your business requires. It may surprise you. Welcome to the future of work!
