What Is Hybrid Working and How Can It Benefit Your Business?

What Does Hybrid Working Mean?

The last of England’s legal restrictions around Covid-19 were lifted in February 2022 and for many businesses, it came with the “new normal” of hybrid working.

Even before the pandemic, many companies already operated some form of hybrid working, but there’s no doubt that the rollout of remote working arrangements was greatly accelerated – vastly improved technology meant that people could remain productive at home, in spite of the “2m rule”.

However, remote working has its setbacks. Employees who work remotely 100% of the time can feel more isolated, often find it challenging to connect with colleagues and may encounter more distractions than their office-based counterparts.

Hybrid working provides the advantages of remote working, whilst addressing the challenges. In basic terms, a hybrid work model is one where employees work both in the office and remotely. For example, our office spaces in London are full of employees who make the most out of the hybrid working model.

However, it’s not a “one-size-fits-all” model – hybrid working spans a spectrum of different scenarios, from business models where workers are either remote or office-based to the extremely flexible approach where employees can determine their own office/remote working balance.

Under a hybrid model, work is no longer confined to the four walls of the office space, and instead, your business can become a dynamic community of talent that works together collaboratively wherever and however they choose.

Hybrid Working Advantages

Research shows that the flexibility of hybrid working can boost productivity and employee engagement, as well as reduce your business’ overheads.

From an employee perspective, hybrid working can:

Offer the freedom to choose when and where they work, enabling them to balance out-of-work responsibilities with work priorities;
Build trust between the employee and their employer;
Improve job satisfaction and loyalty to their employer;
Reduces remote working isolation; and
Promotes a sense of company culture and community.

So your team’s happy, but what does that mean for your organisation? Well, happy workers tend to be more productive, so your business can benefit from:

A more inclusive work environment;
An expanded talent pool;
Reduced turnover;
Decreased employee burnout;
Reduced travel and office space costs;
A visible commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR); and
Improved company culture and sense of community.

Is Hybrid Working Here To Stay?

Hybrid working is more than the latest trend, it’s a sustainable working model that’s here to stay. The viability of hybrid working was demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic when businesses switched to remote working overnight. During this period, daily global CO₂ emissions decreased by 17% and with increased scrutiny on climate change, we’ll all need to adopt sustainable working practices.

It’s not only sustainability that’s driving the transition towards hybrid working. The past few years have increased our awareness of well-being in the workplace, and many employees demand greater flexibility to ensure a better work-life balance. Full-time remote working isn’t the answer for everyone, as some people don’t have the space to work from home, while others find the experience lonely. Equally full-time in-office work doesn’t appeal to everyone either.

Hybrid working bridges the gap between the two, helping to create a more inclusive and diverse work environment in the long term.

Does Hybrid Working Increase Productivity?

Although it seems counterintuitive, hybrid working increases productivity. Traditionalists believe the old adage of “out of sight, out of mind”, implying that employees need to be supervised in a conventional office setting in order to be productive.

However, research increasingly demonstrates that the opposite is true. Hybrid working builds trust between managers and their staff, with employees granted more autonomy to deliver work when they’re at their most productive.

People who can balance their work with their out-of-office responsibilities, such as childcare, tend to be happier in their jobs. Yet, there can be too much of a good thing as remote working can lead to burnout, particularly when employees are not clear on their company’s priorities.

That’s where hybrid working can help – your team has the option of coming into the office to drive new ideas, teamwork and collaboration. Many executives attributed boosts in individual productivity to hybrid working, which in turn drove improvements in overall team productivity.

How To Implement Hybrid Working

There are four common hybrid working models and some businesses may even choose to blend the models together:

Flexible Hybrid: Your team has total freedom to choose their location and working hours, based on their deliverables and current priorities;
Fixed Hybrid: The business determines the days and times that team members can work remotely or are required to go into the office;
Office-First Hybrid: Employees are contracted to be on-site, but are granted the flexibility to choose to work remotely for a day or two each week; or
Remote-First Hybrid: Your employees work remotely for the majority of the time and make occasional visits to your office space for team building or meetings.

Fundamentally, you’ll need to consider your team’s access to technology, including computer equipment and internet connectivity as they should have the same, secure working experience, no matter where they’re working from. This means that any IT solution you implement will need to be scalable and your IT department will need to be able to support your teams from both the office and at home.

One of the main challenges facing organisations that are implementing hybrid working is how to maintain consistent company culture and values. Your hybrid working policy should take steps to ensure that employee engagement and recognition are not unduly influenced by your team’s locale – employees should feel included, no matter where they are.

Regardless of which type of model you choose to implement, at the heart of hybrid working is people. Bringing together office and remote working should provide your team with a better work experience.

Discover Office Spaces Ideal For Hybrid Work With Spacepool

Hybrid working is bringing about exciting changes in the UK workforce and alongside it, the notion of conventional office space is being turned on its head. Gone are the days when you needed enough office space to accommodate your entire workforce.

With flexible office space from Spacepool, you can enjoy premium office space that’s configured to suit your organisation’s needs. Whether you need to rent a hot desk for a day, an office space in Manchester for a month or a 50-person meeting room for team training, you’ll find a suitable space on our easy-to-use database.