Hybrid work keeps making gains, but workplace policies may not be keeping up
When COVID-19 sent many workers home and left once-bustling office spaces eerily empty, most people considered the work-from-home arrangement temporary. But as the pandemic dragged on, both employees and employers found plenty to like about working outside the office at least part of the time.
Hybrid arrangements seemed like the best of both worlds—the collaboration opportunities an office provides along with the flexibility of working from home. But what was once a rushed-into plan has now become permanent for many workers, meaning employers need policies to ensure fairness and guard productivity.
The strong case for hybrid
In its 2022-2023 “Hybrid Works” report, IWG, a provider of co-working and meeting spaces, says 63% of high-growth companies were using a hybrid work model. The report also quotes a study finding that 77% of employees say working closer to home is an essential consideration when looking for their next job.
IWG also says hybrid arrangements help employers retain talent because people stay longer for employers who allow hybrid schedules. Hybrid work also reduces commuting, thereby cutting carbon emissions, a factor important to many jobseekers, employees, and employers.
Hybrid advocates also point to opportunities for companies to save money by lowering overhead costs since less space is needed when fewer people are working in the office at the same time.
The thought of drastically cutting office footprints may paint a bleak picture for commercial real estate, but IWG CEO Mark Dixon sees the change creating new opportunities for how office space is used.
In an interview with CNBC in March, he likened offices to gas stations. Since “they’re everywhere,” they provide ample places to work. Companies like his can “network them all together and make them easy to use.”
Getting around the downsides
Of course, a proliferation of work-from-anywhere opportunities doesn’t sound desirable to many employers and employees. Many long for the days when people were likely to work the same hours in the same place. And the problems associated with people not being able to work face to face are leading many employers to bring people back to the office now that COVID has eased.
While some are eager to go back to their pre-pandemic ways, others are resisting and assessing if they want to keep working for an employer that doesn’t allow the flexibility they crave.
One way to overcome some of the downsides of hybrid work is to develop policies aimed at making the arrangement work for both employees and employers.
In January, workplace platform provider Envoy published information suggesting what a hybrid work policy should include. Among the suggestions: Explain why the company chooses hybrid work and outline who is eligible and why.
The Envoy blog notes that some employers will be able to make the arrangement available to anyone, and others will need to develop criteria that must be met by people working a hybrid schedule.
A hybrid policy also needs to clearly outline in-office expectations. Depending on the job and the company, the employer may be specific about when people are expected in the office, and other times the employer may instruct employees to work out the specifics with their managers.
Remote schedule expectations also need to be covered. An employer may want to set core hours in which employees should make sure they are available but otherwise allow flexibility, according to Envoy.
The problem with policies
Although a clear policy can head off misunderstandings and maximize the benefits of hybrid work, they’re not the only thing employers must consider. Before deciding on guidelines employees must follow, employers need to decide how far they want to go with hybrid work.
An employer bent on reducing the amount of office space needed may make part-time out-of-office work mandatory. But what about employees who don’t want to work anywhere but the office? Not everyone has a place suitable for work. Maybe they live/work in a small home full of distractions. The employer needs to decide if it’s willing to lose an employee who can’t (or won’t) remotely.
Once the scope of hybrid work is decided and policies are written, the employer needs to make sure they’re understood. That may be a problem, according to research from Fishbowl, a social network for professionals to converse about work.
Fishbowl conducted a poll of 7,300 professionals asking, “Do you understand your company’s hybrid-work plan?” It found concerning results. Nearly half of those polled (49.2%) said they didn’t understand the policies.
