Remote, hybrid or office work? Which choice is better and how do you strike the right balance? 

SMART HR is interested in 2023 "Gallup survey, which surveyed 140 HR leaders from Fortune 500 companies on whether their teams were positive or negative about hybrid and remote work. Interestingly, the study revealed that negative or positive attitudes influenced the company's beliefs and decisions. Also, HR managers believe that management teams often base their decisions on emotions and attitudes towards blended or remote work, rather than data and rational analysis of your organization's requirements.

It is important to note that HR managers who reported that their company managers had negative attitudes towards hybrid and remote work also said that these managers:

  • 3.7 times more likely to work in the office five days a week.
  • It requires their team to spend an additional 1.25 days per week in the office.
  • 18 % is less likely to believe that hybrid work improves productivity.
  • 1.8 times more likely to be penalized for non-compliance.
  • 10.5 times more likely to reduce flexibility further in the coming year.

Providing successful examples of hybrid work organization solutions, organizations such as Spotify, Airbnb, already made post-pandemic decisions about how many days a week employees should be in the office and gave managers the ability to give their team members the most choice to access other corporate offices to learn and collaborate there.

Meanwhile Linkedin focused on changing the vision of their offices to make them more attractive to employees. They summarized their vision with the idea that the office should offer employees something they cannot find at home by redesigning work spaces with more focus on comfort (eg ergonomic, work organization solutions).

It is worth noting that many success stories say that freedom is not unlimited. There are also restrictions that encourage you to plan your work schedule in advance and choose your preferred workplace. For example, it is often observed that employees have to work in the same region where their duties are located.

As there is no one-size-fits-all approach to flexible working, and a similar strategy may work for one organization and not another, it is clear that both engagement and employee wellbeing remain top priorities. How to ensure the importance of these priorities regardless of how employees do their work?

1. Understanding of employee expectations.

Gallup polled US workers on what schedule they would like to work monday to friday, regardless of whether they work remotely or in the office:

  • A job where you work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and you engage in other activities before or after work.
  • A job where you alternate between work and other activities throughout the day.

Research results revealed a surprising 50/50 split between the choice of schedules, so the results of this study emphasize that organizations without knowing how employees want to work risk having lower employee engagement, a feeling of disrespect and a higher risk of burnout.

2. Building a relationship with the team

Often, organizations offer a variety of wellness programs and services that often do not meet the needs of employees.

Managers may think these programs are "generous," but research shows that very few employees take advantage of them.

Caring isn't a program, it's a relationship. The most important relationship you can have at work is your relationship with your manager. By focusing on caring and building relationships, it is possible to achieve greater employee productivity and emotional safety.

3. Training for managers of mixed teams

More than half of HR managers said that training programs for mixed teams are optional and managers often do not have time to attend them. Managers leading mixed teams are more likely to experience burnout than their counterparts leading fully remote or onsite teams. Given these insights, it is important to provide support to these managers to increase and sustain their own engagement and well-being.

It looks like employees will have new expectations, where and how they will work in the future, and employers who have already enabled employees to work flexibly will need to continue to spend time implementing a long-term hybrid team management strategy. Global trends suggest that fostering a company culture that focuses on employee engagement and well-being, especially through better management support and training, will have the greatest positive impact on team productivity.

Teams will continue to be able to coordinate projects, collaborate and lead differently, make better use of virtual collaboration tools, practices and different workspaces, but the fundamentals of good leadership, clear expectations, exceptional teamwork, helping employees use their strengths and regular performance improvement conversations will remain. continue to be important.