Introducing our series, “Navigating the future of hybrid work”

As the world slowly reopens, it’s increasingly clear that the future of work for many companies and their employees will be hybrid. A hybrid work model is when employees split time between on-site and working remotely. Research from Gallup, McKinsey & Company, and Accenture all found that the majority of employees surveyed about their work preferences said hybrid is the preferred option. In fact, two-thirds of employees in a 2021 McKinsey survey said that if their current job required them to return fully onsite, they would look for other opportunities. Of course, industries, such as healthcare or construction, are not set up for an easy move to fully remote or hybrid; but for many, flexibility is the name of the game. 

“As of February 2022,” most remote-capable employees continued to work from home at least part of the time, but the mix became a nearly even split -- 42% had a hybrid schedule, and 39% worked entirely from home.” – Gallup survey 

In many cases, however, employers are less excited about going hybrid because they are unsure how to execute this working model successfully. Some large companies threw parties for employees to soften the immediate blow of returning to work a few days a week. However, these events don’t solve the more significant problem of how to help employees remain happy, productive, and engaged in a hybrid world. 

Even before COVID-19, Bonzzu had an almost exclusively remote workforce. As such, we have experience working through some of the more complex issues that a hybrid and/or remote work environment presents, such as competing time zones for teams and security and connectivity. In our new series, we’ll address critical hybrid work questions such as: 

• What does an inclusive hybrid workplace look like? How can employers, for instance, navigate time zone issues across distributed teams? What about cultural and personal considerations?
• How can employees build trust with leaders and managers while working remotely and across different time zones? 
• How can companies and employees build good communication practices within a hybrid working environment? 
• How can employers address
• How can employers successfully onboard employees in a remote or hybrid workplace? How does this affect culture?

While there are no one-size-fits-all answers to these questions, we’ve found general best practices that companies can adopt and tailor to fit their culture and values. For example, some companies could hire a Head of Remote to take on challenges, including ensuring corporate culture and behaviors are consistent across remote and onsite employees, and defining hybrid workflows.   

Companies must play the long game when creating an effective hybrid working model for the future. Our “Navigating the future of hybrid work’’ series will explore longer-term solutions to these questions. Keep an eye out for our next post in the series on building an inclusive hybrid work environment.