Hybrid workplaces are really hard to get right

Peter du ToitI'm the founder of FutureWork IQ where I spend my time assisting businesses to improve their climate literacy so as to understand the projected impacts from the expanding climate crisis and how to adapt their workplaces in the face of these impacts.

There are many reasons for this. Candida Sisam, captures one these reasons succinctly:

“A hybrid model can seem like an easy solution to the current issues companies face because they can retain their office space while also accommodating both those who prefer in-person and those who prefer remote work. The easiest solution is not necessarily the best and it’s imperative to establish best practices for communication around it early on. I believe an important aspect of implementing a hybrid model is considering where leadership spends their time. If leaders are predominantly working from the office, other people will also likely want to work from the office – unintentionally creating a culture of office-first culture if it did not already exist. An unbalanced culture could create challenges when it comes to recognising people, as in-office employees could attract more attention and remote workers could feel excluded.”

I maintain that it is easier to manage a fully remote team than it is to manage teams that are essentially split across two communication “apps” – the office and the digital app those use not in the office.