Hybrid Office Advantage: The New Future of Work

Have you read about the hybrid office and its advantages? If yes, then you belong to the lucky crowd who knows that the future of workplaces is much more different than the past. A hybrid work environment is a modern modification to a conventional workplace, and there are many reasons why organizations are loving it.

From availing the hybrid office advantage for employees to enjoying the benefits of hybrid offices by employers, everyone loves the new flexibility and control in the workplace. And the best thing about hybrid work arrangement is that it offers multi-dimensional benefits.

From providing health benefits to control over work hours, enjoying remote working a few days a week, and getting the perks of a workplace, a hybrid work schedule is the promising future of organizations.

Importance of Hybrid Office

During a pandemic, a hybrid workplace plays a great role in keeping employees safe by decreasing the number of individuals in the office at any particular moment, providing enough personal space, and making it simpler to maintain distance. In addition, if they or their family are in danger, flexible employees can commute during off-peak hours or work from home.

Besides preventing the widespread disease, a hybrid work model also allows employees to be flexible with their work hours. For employees who are managing part-time jobs or completing a degree, an organization with a hybrid office can be of extra benefit. This model also allows employers to reduce operational costs.

With fewer employees on-site each day, the electricity consumption is less, and the workstations' needs also decrease. In addition, organizations can allocate different working shifts for employees and thus use the same furniture for various employees.

Advantages and Shortcomings of a Hybrid Workplace

As the world returns to normal, the business is rethinking the way they work. One of the major reasons organizations are not ready to go back to the pre-Covid workplace scenario is the employee satisfaction, and rise in productivity observed amidst pandemic. In addition, many workplaces witnessed the benefits of work from home both for employees and organizations.

Even though now the major reason to reduce crowds in the office is the spread of the deadly virus, it is not the only reason why a workplace would opt for a hybrid work arrangement. Here are a few hybrid office advantages and its downsides that could help you decide whether or not to make this change in your organization.

Productivity

This catches the most attention for the employers as who wouldn't love a productive employee? As the employees have gotten more control over their work hours, not many of us hate our job. When allowed to work with flexible hours, employers can arrange their life around work in a better way. By choosing to commute during less busy times to working when they feel most energetic, everyone is happy with this flexibility.

Satisfaction

Not everyone feels energetic in the same environment. With work from home, we can choose and create our kind of environment to work in. Employee happiness rises significantly when they have the freedom to work when and where they choose. There are several reasons for this, ranging from the psychological benefits of having complete control over their schedules to just working in bed. This improved mood is attributed to dressing more casually, cooking more, and spending more time with loved ones.

Lowered Cost

This is one of the most important hybrid office advantages. The lowered cost has been a great shift for organizations. Just as the name suggests, a hybrid place is the combination of various kinds of seating and work arrangement. You can encourage desk sharing, corner desks, working on couches, or anything. A company can be creative and cost-effective rather than just having the same robotic work desks for everyone with maximum space and amenities.

Safety

Safety and health concerns are valid and need to be taken seriously. However, even when vaccines take effect, and the epidemic fades away, health experts warn that societal barriers will stay in place for some time. A hybrid workplace helps the implementation of safety measures without much ado.

Communication Problems

Besides some of the hybrid office advantages, employees also face gaps in communication. Where there are a bunch of benefits to a model, there are also downsides. And facing communication problems and inability to collaborate well is a serious concern with hybrid work mode. Since employees have flexible work hours, this could cause some slack in team projects where individuals need to work together. Moreover, employees who work remotely may feel left out in most office scenarios.

Employee Isolation

The closeness and companionship created from physically being there at the workplace may be eroded when employees spend lengthy amounts of time apart from one other focused on their separate responsibilities. When inside jokes, chit-chats, and corporate trips are no longer available during the workday, some employees may become demotivated and lonely.

Cyber Risks

The internet is never safe, and the thing about hybrid work arrangements is that everything is online. With the elimination of verbal communication, companies have to have every information, detail to be revealed online.

Working and being entirely online gives rise to increased chances of breach in privacy. Cyber-attacks are more likely to occur in such cases. Since the internet is always full of fraud, organizations must consider safety measures to ensure their data management in a way that is accessible to everyone but also duly protected.

Making a Shift to Hybrid Workplace – Are you Ready?

The hybrid office advantages make everyone get on board with this model, but the cons of this model can be visible if you do not implement it properly. If your organization is rather a big one, then this change implementation must be considered and practiced wisely. For example, using a hybrid work policy template could be a wise decision as it will help you learn the basics and must-haves for a hybrid office.

The right approach to a hybrid workplace starts with the model's basic education and highlights its importance in the workplace. Ensure you educate the employees about a workplace and make it important to understand why this change is positive for the organization in the long run.

Also, point out the benefits of a hybrid workforce system for the employees rather than just focusing on the positive aspects for the business. Learning both the hybrid work pros and cons is the right way to be realistic about this approach.