Hybrid work doesn’t have to be emotionally exhausting

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We have an unprecedented opportunity to combine the flexibility of remote work with the collaboration of the office

Hybrid work – a model of working partly at the office and partly remotely – gives us a chance to radically upgrade the workplace. However, going hybrid is a complex undertaking and most companies are still figuring it out as they go.

For now, what we do know is that a successful move to hybrid requires a delicate balance between company goals and employee needs. That’s why we believe that flexibility, personalisation and collaboration should be at the heart of this new work paradigm. In other words, we should try to blend the best of office work (collaboration and networking) and remote work (flexibility and personalisation).

There’s no universal recipe for making that happen, but we can lay a few fundamental ground rules. Some of these are already embraced by huge companies, while others are based on our experience as a company powering flexible work for years. On that note, here are our top pillars for making hybrid work a success.

Encourage flexibility and personalised schedules

Hybrid work doesn’t have to mean the same schedule for everyone, e.g., three days at the office a week. One of the biggest perks of hybrid working should be the opportunity to tailor your work schedule to your professional and personal needs.

That’s why companies such as Amazon allow important decisions about hybrid scheduling to be made at a team level. Others, such as Salesforce and HubSpot, have created various work options that individuals can choose from.

Besides wellbeing, such flexible options are also crucial for productivity, as they let people choose how to work based on their job’s requirements, rather than conforming to everyone else’s.

Promote in-person collaboration

Community is the biggest benefit of coming to the office. Having face-to-face contact with others is invaluable, so it’s vital to encourage in-person collaboration in an organisation.

Companies can do that by letting team members decide which days to come to the office, based on when their colleagues are there. Everyone can collaborate in person and then work from home when they need seclusion to get their tasks done. Face-to-face collaboration happens naturally, when people decide it’s necessary, instead of being forced through policies.

And again, no one has to commute every day or feel trapped by a top-down enforced schedule.

Manage app overload

We all know about Zoom fatigue – the feeling of tiredness or anxiety induced by the overuse of video conferencing tools. However, video conferencing is only part of the bigger app overload issue.

If you’re managing a hybrid workplace, you’ll likely need a desk booking app, especially if you have more employees than desks. You can manage desk booking in spreadsheets, but as your company grows, the process becomes increasingly time-consuming and tedious – and most of us are already drowning in spreadsheets.

In short, it’s better to use a specialised desk booking app. However, no one wants yet another app just to go to work.

As a company building a hybrid workplace solution, we know that from experience. That’s why our product integrates with Slack, Google Calendar and the Microsoft Suite (including Teams and Outlook). As a result, companies and individuals can manage the hybrid workplace in their everyday apps.

OfficeRnD’s free webinar, How To Simplify Hybrid Work Through Scheduling & Integrations, will discuss how to minimise uncertainty and help everyone in your organisation embrace hybrid work. Find out more about OfficeRnD at officernd.com

Originally published on Business Reporter