What’s working (and what isn’t) in hybrid work
Here are four actionable strategies workplace leaders can leverage to cultivate a robust hybrid work culture.
A little over two years ago, employees worldwide packed up their desks and headed home for what we all believed would be two weeks. As more and more tech companies roll out return-to-office plans, employees have made it clear that they aren’t willing to give up the flexibility and autonomy they’ve become accustomed to working remotely for the past couple of years. The office’s traditional role has forever changed, but it doesn’t mean that physical office space won’t be an essential part of the future of work. After years of social distancing, many employees look forward to returning to the workplace’s energy, collaborative spirit, and cultural nexus.
According to Accenture, 83% of employees say a hybrid work model in which they can work remotely between 25% and 75% of the time is optimal, but this is still a new working model for many companies. Workplace leaders must adapt their office space to create a vibrant and rich experience that empowers employees to decide where and how they get their best work done while capitalizing on the value of in-person interactions with colleagues. Many organizations struggle to get this transition to hybrid “right,” but meeting employees’ needs doesn’t have to be complex, costly or confusing.
Related: Remote work: When hybrid is the answer to employees’ pain
Today’s workplace leaders are being presented with a rare opportunity to redefine the future of work, and there is no one-size-fits-all approach. 2022 marked the start of the work experiment with major global technology companies like Twitter, Google, Microsoft, and Apple leading the charge to make hybrid work the new ‘standard.’ Below, we’ll explore how these key players are rethinking the new role of the office and most importantly, how these different approaches can help inform you cultivate an engaged and productive hybrid work culture.
In May 2020, Twitter’s previous CEO Jack Dorsey told employees they could work remotely indefinitely even after the pandemic. His successor, Parag Agrawal, doubled down on the decision when announcing the company’s plans to re-open offices this past March. In a company-wide email, Agrawal highlighted the advantages of in-person work while ensuring Twitter’s employees that remote work will remain an option stating, “Wherever you feel most productive and creative is where you will work and that includes working from home full-time forever.”
Twitter’s Director of Global Design & Construction recently detailed how this employee-centric workplace strategy is now shaping the company’s plans for redesigning office spaces. It will be interesting to see how Elon Musk’s ownership, someone staunchly in favor of office work, will affect Twitter’s hybrid strategy.
After months of changing its return to office plans, on March 2nd Google announced its decision to end its voluntary work-from-home period and have employees in the Bay Area and several other locations start returning to offices the week of April 4. CEO Sundar Pichai emphasized Google’s commitment to getting back to in-person work with the rollout of this new policy while opening lines of communication for employees to voice concerns or feedback by offering virtual meetings with counselors and providing workers with the option to extend WFH during the designated transition period.
Google has also been leveraging unique employee perks and experiences to entice workers back into the office. To eliminate friction for employees commuting to and from the office, Google partnered with electric scooter developer Unagi to roll out the company’s newest employee perk program, “Ride Scoot,” which offers U.S. employees full reimbursement for the cost of a monthly subscription.
Microsoft
Unlike other major companies, Microsoft has embraced flexible working since the onset of the pandemic, emphasizing its data-driven approach to re-opening offices on a site-by-site basis. When opening up its Washington state office to employees, guests, and visitors on February 28, 2022, Microsoft also announced the start of a 30-day transition period to help ease workers into the new routines agreed upon with their managers. Allowing employees to coordinate with managers on the components of their hybrid work schedule was a strategic move designed to open up the line of communication between employees and managers and one of the standout components of the company’s policy.
Apple
Apple began its phased transition to hybrid work on April 11th, requiring teams to return to the office one day a week and gradually ramping up to at least three days per week by May 23rd. Unlike other major companies, Apple’s specification of which days employees are required to be in-person (Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays) makes it one of the stricter return to office policies we’ve seen thus far. Despite immediate and ongoing backlash from employees, Apple seems to be sticking to this policy and timeline.
The future of work is constantly changing. Although there are many benefits to hybrid work, the transition won’t come without challenges. Here are four actionable strategies workplace leaders can leverage to cultivate a robust hybrid work culture:
1. Maintain a flexible, data-driven approach
As evident from the different interpretations of hybrid work we saw above, there is no “right” approach, and organizations aren’t expected to have all of the answers at this point. While transparency and visibility will be critical to eliminating friction around employees’ return to the office, it’s essential not to be too prescriptive when developing new workplace strategies at the local and global levels. Employees want to see that companies are willing to try new things, but nothing should be set in stone at this stage.
A deeply integrated back-end tech stack that includes building access, HR systems, and reservation systems is one way to help executives identify the steps they need to take to design a successful, scalable workplace strategy that accounts for all types of employee experience. This will offer valuable insight to workplace leaders as they test, learn, and iterate new policies.
2. Proactive communication
The best thing leaders can do to keep up in today’s environment is to listen to their employees and adjust decisions based on their feedback. After years of uncertainty, workers are looking for visibility and clarity around the future of work. Establishing an ongoing employee feedback loop will help organizations shape their hybrid strategy over time to fit the needs of their workforce. Issuing company-wide employee surveys to gather feedback or leveraging solutions like Slack to distribute corporate announcements are significant first steps to opening this line of communication. Increased clarity around work expectations will help to eliminate friction for employees transitioning to this new normal.
3. Intentional relationship-building
Relationship-building needs to be intentional and prescriptive in a hybrid work environment. Our recent survey found shared purpose and connection are among the key areas of concern for distributed workforces, with 46% of people claiming assimilation into a team has been more difficult than it was pre-pandemic. Managers can foster natural team building and trust with weekly meetings that incorporate open time for members to socialize and regular team events scheduled to accommodate remote employees as much as in-person.
Since in-person interactions won’t be occurring every day, they’ll hold even more value in hybrid work. Increasing the frequency of all-hands meetings is another great way to start building relationships as it allows each team and department to stage their work and see how their contribution fits in as part of the whole.
4. Don’t forget about employee perks
Ping pong tables, office lunches, and happy hours are no longer enough to meet the needs of employees. As businesses continue to determine the right balance between remote options and in-person collaboration, specialized perks and benefits will play a crucial role in the retention and engagement of employees. They can also improve efforts in talent acquisition.
Micah Remley is CEO of Robin.
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