What does hybrid working really mean?

Answering the big questions from our Work Reimagined festival

For the past week we’ve been answering all your questions that came up in our Work Reimagined Festival a couple of weeks ago, and today marks our final day as we focus on one of the big questions; what does a hybrid role look like?

The changing state of work was already happening pre pandemic, the boundaries between place, state and mode were already becoming blurred and it seemed inevitable the future was to be hybrid in nature. Now it’s been accelerated by C-19, it’s a chance for businesses and employees to design a new work mode that creates value. A chance to define what culture, process, management and strategy mean in a hybrid state. One of the big questions we looked at our Work Reimagined festival is the future role of the office and what a hybrid role looks like — will some roles be 100% at home, will some be 100% in office or will it allow the freedom to choose what hybrid means for you?

The answer isn’t straightforward because it’s very unique to every company. I’d encourage businesses to make big decisions like this, with evidence, and in a deliberate manner based on role type, employee preference and business/customer need. One of our clients has decided to embrace digital working for all and then the office is an asset to be used for the right things. This is very forward thinking, and fits with what’s right for them. These decisions can’t be taken lightly as there are wider implications on things like contracts, tax, health and safety.

It’s clear that there are benefits and pitfalls with both a true office based and a WFH model — and we won’t be going back to how it was pre pandemic. At the festival there was a lot of chatter and excitement about how hybrid working creates an exciting opportunity to get the best of both worlds. The office gives us the human interaction we’re craving and a space to collaborate freely and openly while getting a sprinkling of inspiration from those corridor chats. Then when we need to get our heads down and concentrate, home or a place of choice gives us that much needed space to do this — with less distractions. This choice and flexibility empowers people to have the autonomy to flex and choose which working environment is best suited to particular tasks.

Having worked with one of our clients to explore how we can maximise productivity, culture and efficiency by reimagining, where, when and how work gets done, Natalia Waters agrees with the best of both notion:

“It’s hard to say what all companies will do — it’s very business, sector and role dependant — what’s become clear from our work supporting one of the world’s largest manufacturing companies to build a purposeful workplace strategy for the future, is that hybrid working creates an exciting opportunity to get the best of both worlds. It’s about having empowerment and the autonomy to flex and choose which working environment is best suited to the task, being judged on outcomes as opposed to time ‘chained to the desk’.”

If you’re interested in the other big topics on reimagining the way we work, catch up on yesterday’s big question; What new skills will we need in the new world of work?

Jenny Burns is an Executive Partner at Fluxx. For more info on the work we’re doing to reimagine the workplace check out these links or get in touch at Jenny.burns@fluxx.uk.com.