The Hybrid Office Model Is Here To Stay

Chris works in Beijing. Pat works in Lima. Morgan works in New York City. They all work for the same company, which is located in London. They’ve never met. They probably never will. This isn’t the workplace of the future.

Steve Morrow, who also works for the same company from Parramatta in Western Sydney, is currently looking for a new job.

Like many, he’s been working remotely since March 2020. Like many, he says he has “no desire to return to a cubicle again … ever.”

(Related: How To Implement The Hybrid Working Model).

While he’s not desperate to find a new job, he says he’s surprised by the number of employers that want people to be on-site.

If he was desperate, he says, he recognises that he would have to consider going into an office, something he’s now loathe to do.

“I can’t stand the thought of being confined to a cube all day,” he says.

At this point, Morrow says, he would not consider changing jobs if it required him to be physically on-site. He’s not alone.

The Genie Is Out of The Bottle

Research conducted by plugable, based on responses from 2000 US adults in January 2021, found that, like Morrow, nearly half of those currently working remotely would rather work at home for the long haul than head back to the office.

Joe Flanagan, a senior employment advisor with VelvetJobs, has experienced the reluctance—or utter refusal—to consider jobs that require employees to be onsite firsthand.

“Candidates today are less forgiving of employers who don’t provide the flexibility of remote or hybrid work,” he says.

Corey K. Brown is a case in point.

Brown recently changed jobs. Having a hybrid working environment was a big part of his decision-making process. After working remotely for more than 18 months at his last job, he says the leadership team decided to bring all staff back into the office.

That, he says, “was a game-changer for many of my coworkers and me.”

(Related: Best Carry-On Luggage For Business Travellers).

It Was Also A Decision That Defied Logic.

The company had been entirely in-office before the pandemic. Then, like many, it was forced to send people home to work.

During that time, says Brown, the company had “historical growth.” That, he says, should have proven that employees could work effectively remotely.

It’s a move that more companies are likely to consider seriously. After getting a taste of the benefits of remote work, employees have become seriously averse to on-site work requirements.

(Related: 7 Best Ergonomic Office Chairs For WFH).

Opportunities For Employees.

“Hybrid work offers a number of key opportunities for both personal and professional growth”, says Corey K. Brown, head of marketing with risk3sixty.

Flexibility and work/life balance are two primary benefits, according to Brown.

Even the little things — like being home to admit a service person, or having the flexibility to leave for appointments, or to throw a load of clothes in the wash can be highly valued.

(Related: How To Ask Your Employer For A Standing Desk).

Those are personal life convenience-related perks, but the benefits of remote work can become much more tangible.

Scott Hirsch is CTO and co-founder of TalentMarketplace, a coworking space for tech companies and candidates.

“They could even start looking for work in places that offer higher pay than their current location,” he notes.

Of course, those remote jobs wouldn’t even need to be located in the United States. Remote work literally opens up a world of possibilities.

However, as with anything, there are always both upsides and downsides, says Hirsch.

Worrying Drawbacks Of Hybrid Work.

First, Hirsch says: “While remote work means more job opportunities since you can search outside of your location, it also means more competition.”

Consider a rural community in a sparsely populated area where you are the only IT developer with qualifications for a position you’re a shoo-in for. If that position can suddenly be handled remotely (and it can) the competitive field of candidates has grown exponentially.

(Related: Best Standing Desk For Your Home Office).

This, says Flanagan, is the biggest challenge facing candidates in a remote/hybrid work environment.

People who have been laid off over the past year are looking for work, and so are people who have been waiting to ride out the volatility before changing their jobs.

On average, most people are applying to more job openings today and getting far lesser responses. Those who are less likely to feel the pinch of competition are “niche experts or workers with very specific skill sets,” says Flanagan.

(Related Article: How To Set Up A Home Office On A Shoestring).

Being able to work anywhere in the world opens up a lot of opportunities, but also raises issues related to interacting with people across time zones.

Get together for lunch at midnight, anyone?

And, says Hirsch, while not having to commute to work is certainly an advantage, onboarding and working entirely remotely can negatively impact the social aspects of a job.

Plugable also points to some “bad habits” that can emerge when working from home based on its research:

A lack of a productive space for work (cited by 34% of respondents) and dealing with technical computer or internet issues (cited by 33%) can also negatively impact productivity, while also leading to frustration for employees.

(Related: Best Coffee Machines To Fuel Your Productivity).

While many have come to recognise and acknowledge that the fear of employees being “out of sight and out of mind” was largely unfounded, employees themselves have lingering concerns as Brown acknowledges.

“Learning to grow in your career without interacting with your team directly can be a drawback”, he says.

It’s a working model that’s not for everyone.

The good news, though, is that while some remnants of remote work are likely to remain long past the pandemic, the majority of companies are most likely to take a hybrid approach, allowing both them and their employees — current and prospective — to have the best of both worlds.

– Irene