Hybrid Working: A General Overview on a Unique Style of Work

A Hybrid Working strategy is one that combines portions of on-site employment features, as well as features that allow for the flexibility of remote work. A Hybrid Working strategy is becoming one of the most popular methods of employment in the modern age, due to its allowance of a certain degree of flexibility, while also retaining the practicality of office based working dynamics.

Since 2020, companies have been widespread in their application of remote working strategies, specifically due to the onset of the global pandemic. This was done in an effort to curtail the effects of the virus, which also included other “New Normal” style laws. However, one year later, in 2021, many companies have started to recall the vast majority of their remote working employees back to a more traditional office based employment scheme.

Despite this, the onset of the era of remote works has still not dies out, as the benefits from such distance based employment strategies have already made its mark upon the world of business; hence many of these companies still seek out to retain those benefits, while at the same time having many of their workers return to the office for varied periods of time.

This has resulted in a compromise: a middle ground strategy that includes elements from both work from home, and office based strategies. Thus, the hybrid working systems of employment were created in order to cater to this.

By implementing a hybrid system of work, both the employer as well as the employee can experience the benefits of both incorporated systems; companies can save on office operational costs, while employees will be able to receive a better level of work life balance.

In most cases, one of three models of employment is commonly used. These are:

• The on-site model, the more traditional system of work where employees work exclusively at their office.
• The Remote model, where employees conduct their work on a distance based system; through this model, a fast internet and effective communication applications are key.
• The Hybrid model; this method uses elements of both the on-site and remote models, usually using the latter as the main strategic template, while coming to the office two days every week, for example.
  

What is Hybrid Work?

Hybrid working is a system of employment where workers are allowed to work through a combination of both office based and distance based strategies, where employees usually engage in a “work from home” type of strategy, while at the same time coming to the office on several agreed upon days. Combining these two models allows for a more flexible work environment, where the benefits of both employment strategies can be gained.

Please note that the hybrid working is itself comprised of several “types”, namely:

• The Split-team model: with this model, employees will be split between two groups and will be comprised of employees who are allowed to work from home, and those who are required to work via office based employment.
  
• The Shifting model: Here, employee schedules will set certain agreed upon days as either “work from home” or “work from office” days, depending on whether admin aims to follow a primarily on-site or remote based strategy.
  
• The Flexibility model: Using this model, employees will have the choice, on an individual basis, whether or not to work from home or the office.

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Hybrid Working?

Now that we are clear as to the definition of Hybrid Work, let’s discuss the pros and cons of this system for both the company and its employees as a whole.

Advantages:

The main advantage to the hybrid work model is apparent: employees are given the flexibility to work from wherever they choose, office or home. This essentially improves the work-life balance of every employee, as they will be more inclined to be mentally balanced if they, for example, can simply socialize with their family members and do their laundry on their break time, instead of being unable to take care of chores, instead having the one option of sitting in an office cafeteria.

Importantly, a Hybrid model allows employers to reduce a portion of their costs in regards to spending on an office for the extent of the week. Of course, because this is a mixed model, some costs will potentially be allocated to a set place where employees can gather every Tuesday and Wednesdays every week (for example). Furthermore, many companies using this model even end up renting virtual offices instead of ones located in physical buildings.

Furthermore, there is a moral boost that is inherent with any strategy that incorporates a work from home model; this indeed translates to a more alluring and attractive promise when attempting to recruit new personnel.  It is no surprise that employees in general much prefer working from the comfort of their own homes, compared to slugging it at the office every day. This is not only for reasons related to a proper work-life balance, but also because doing so means that employees don’t have to spend money on gas or transportation. So, financially, this strategy works for both the employer and the employee alike.

Disadvantages:

Despite Hybrid Work strategies being increasingly popular in utility, this model of work does have its various downsides; some of these include instances of difficulty when managing your workers. This is due to the fact that the whole employer base will be working from a distance, and therefore, coordination will rely on the efficacy of the communications apps that you and your team have agreed upon using; this, and the diligence of every individual employee and their willingness to reply on a consistent basis. In this regard, a lot of elements within a hybrid work strategy will depend on how good your company’s digital infrastructure is. This does not only include the use of communication’s apps, but also video conferencing, as well project management apps. Therefore, the implementation of good and reliable digital technology, as well as a reasonably fast internet, is a must for all individuals who will be working from home.