Who will win the hybrid workplace battle?

FOMO and living vicariously through others' work-life balance and WFH have caused an imbalance across the work world. After much investigation, Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford researcher, recently concluded that a hybrid workweek would ideally be three days in the office and two days at home. He considered many different factors, including stress levels and commutes. However, employees have snubbed the response to his ideal set of findings; with 60 per cent either wanting to work fully remote or up to three days at home, 40 percent chose 4 or 5 days in the workplace. 

New workplace 

As the pandemic comes to a close, companies begin to talk about how they and their teams will manage the new workplace. According to data, 55.6 per cent of graduate and lower-paid employees will work entirely on-site, 29 per cent of professional, graduates, managers and higher-paid employees will enjoy a hybrid work-life balance, whilst the final 15.4 per cent of IT support, payroll, and contractors will work entirely from home.

The hybrid workplace is good for creativity and company culture. Working from home saves on commute time and generally a quieter space. Interestingly, working from home saves around 70 minutes each day of commute time. Over 40 per cent of workers would spend this time working on their job, whilst others would use the time for indoor leisure activities, outdoor activities and exercise, chores and home improvements or childcare. Research finds that hybrid WFH increases average productivity by up to 5 per cent. Employees also value hybrid working about the same as an 8 per cent pay increase.

Changing the horizon

Bloom says that about half of the workforce simply can't work at home; they have to go to an office or workplace. These roles tend to be in industries that involve retail, manufacturing, healthcare or service industries such as hospitality. The workers are largely the lowest-paid. They've faced various disappointments through the pandemic and had to show up. Employers realise that they will have to make up for the lack of ability to work from home; an example might be changing an eight-hour, five day week to a ten-hour four day week.

About 10 per cent of employees can work remotely indefinitely; they would hold roles such as IT support, finance, payroll and editing. These employees have become more productive whilst working from home. Their roles are autonomous and do not have teams to manage for the most part. The remaining 40 per cent of employees will fall into the hybrid category. They can do a significant amount of work from home but will still be required to be in the office for structure and face-to-face communication for part of their time. Almost 50 per cent of the workforce will long-term work from home or the hybrid model. 

WFH

Working from home is big business and is changing how the world works with technology, culture and best practices. WFH also means that office spaces are changing, and employers are finding it harder to justify private office spaces for people that only use them for half (or more) of their working week. Hot desks and open plan spaces are becoming more commonplace, encouraging open communication between staff.

Remote work is also affecting the economy, particularly smaller cities that haven't historically dominated employment landscapes. Commuting has been slashed by hybrid or home workers, meaning they can live where they choose. The hybrid system allows employees to move to personally appropriate places rather than work demand accommodation. 

Hybrid

Employers and employees can both benefit from the new hybrid or work-at-home scenario. Companies need to understand that allowing employees to work from home is essential to staying competitive in the job market. Employees will generally feel happier about remote working arrangements. It’s also important to realise that companies can also benefit through lower overhead costs, improved employee morale and higher productivity if employers want to attract the best talent and keep their current employees happy.

Remote work helps employers lower their environmental impact by cutting back on energy usage and gas emissions. Companies with employees who work all over a country, region, or even the world can benefit from gaining unique perspectives, insights, and ways of thinking across various markets. Working from home can also open up more opportunities for people from different cultural, geographic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. If companies offer customer service support, having employees in different time zones allows them to extend their business days by harnessing the extra hours.

A healthy shakeup

The pandemic undoubtedly has shaken up the workplace, and job seekers are demanding a better work-life balance in the new normal. The seemingly endless lockdowns are showing organisations that operating remotely is entirely possible. Now that people have enjoyed the perks of working from home, jobseekers are looking for flexibility in location and working hours. Recruiters are seeing a push for salaries based on skill sets rather than location.  Employees also expect that companies compensate them for internet or electricity and WFH essential equipment such as computers and ergonomic chairs.

Today's employees also want to give back to various communities, and champion causes close to their hearts. The last couple of years has also shown how society treats different groups. The Me Too movement and Black Lives Matter has caused a shift in social consciousness; businesses are already expected to be transparent about the policies around diversity. It's time for employers to consider new work routines, understand what works best for new hires and current talent, and how it can benefit the company.