Over the course of the Covid-19 lockdowns, we saw a marked shift in the direction of home working. Unable to gather together in groups, workers were forced to do their jobs from a distance. For the most part, the experiment was a success. The British workforce was able to maintain a fairly respectable level of productivity, and uncover a range of personal benefits.
As such, some form of remote working is likely to be with us for a while, even after the lockdowns have come to an end. For most, a form of hybrid working strikes a great compromise between a traditional centralised workspace and a remote one.
Hybrid working basically means that workers spend some of their working hours at home, and some of them at the office. How these hours are split will depend on the position. There are some benefits to this approach, but there are also some potential drawbacks worth considering, too. Let’s explore the issue.
Benefits of Hybrid Working
Workers who are allowed to work remotely tend to be happier, as they have greater control over when and where they work. They end up spending less money and time on travel, which means that they can be more productive overall.
The business also benefits. You’ll have more space available on your premises, which might allow you to downsize without compromising on productivity. The business will also have the opportunity to recruit from a greater distance, since workers who have to take fewer trips into the office might be persuaded to travel further. This widens the net with which you’ll capture new recruits.
Hybrid working in some form or another is likely to become the norm for many workers – and you might struggle to attract and retain the right staff if you don’t offer it.
Drawbacks of Hybrid Working
There are a few difficulties worth anticipating, too.
You might struggle to collaborate and communicate with your workforce, especially if you don’t have any structured software and procedures designed for the purpose. You might find that it’s more difficult to micromanage employees from a distance, especially if without the aid of cloud-based human resource management systems. Some jobs, moreover, require highly specialised equipment which might not be available in a home-working environment.
It’s worth bearing in mind that not every industry can benefit from hybrid working to the same degree. Where labour is mostly manual, a traditional workspace might be preferable. You can’t build a chair, tile a roof, or trim a hedge from a distance.
You might also run into cultural problems as a result of a fractured workforce. Your team might begin to think of itself as two teams, with an us-and-them mentality. You might be able to get around this by having everyone come together at certain points for team-building and social activities.
