Many employees have indicated that they would like to continue remote working in some capacity, even when restrictions are lifted. This creates a new mandate for employers to build an effective hybrid workplace that works for everyone.
But what have we learned from the past 15 months? We have condensed our research to understand how we can better facilitate hybrid working.
Benefits:
- Majority of employees report an increase in happiness levels when working remotely due to greater control and flexibility within their day
- 9/10 employees have indicated they would like to continue working remotely in some capacity in the future
- Happy workforce allows businesses to attract more talent and have a greater staff retention
- Businesses can expand their search area for top talent, meaning they will more likely find the right person
- Productivity has remained consistent whilst staff have been remote working
- Less demand for physical space provides an opportunity to reduce property portfolio
- Less business travelling reduces costs, saves time and is a more environmentally friendly approach
Risks:
- Increase in work related stress when working remotely
- Employees working longer hours and feeling tied to their screens to compensate for lack of visibility
- Staff can find it difficult to separate work life from home life when in the same space
- Some employees may not have adequate space or equipment to work from home
- Pre-existing office based performance markers are unsuitable for judging the output of remote employees
- Remote workers lack the resources to develop skills and progress their careers
- Lack of meaningful socialising and connection with colleagues which plays a big role in employee satisfaction
- Difficulty for new staff to integrate into existing teams
- Potential to lose out on top talent/existing staff if competitors provide a better hybrid working environment
- Security risks as remote workers cannot guarantee secure networks
- Virtual social meetups are not completely satisfying the need for human interaction
- A variety of personalities and desires means there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to hybrid working
- Difficult to balance meeting contribution when there is a mixture of office based and remote based employees
Opportunities:
- Opportunity to decentralise office spaces to provide smaller workspaces throughout the UK, providing a ‘4th workspace’ outside of the office, home or café.
- Transform existing office spaces to facilitate collaboration and socialisation
- Provide extra incentives to work in the office spaces to make commuting more appealing
- Provide frequent ‘out of hours’ work socials to give employees more opportunities for connection
- New performance markers to better understand and appreciate the work of remote employees, boosting future career prospects
- Better access to resources and training for personal development
- Stronger communication and clearer timetabling to allow remote workers to better plan their hours without being tied to their screens
- Create specialised positions to oversee all remote working
- Training provided to create strong meeting facilitators, allowing office and remote workers to contribute equally
- New benefits or rewards schemes that appeal to remote employees also
As change experts, it is our job to provide the knowledge and experience of how to transition smoothly and successfully, even in these unprecedented circumstances. PDCS ensures you have the right people and resources so that you can be at the forefront of this industry-wide change, allowing you to adapt to the new way of working and remain competitive in the short and long term future.
