Two years ago, everyone thought working from home was the best thing since sliced bread. Since then, many have realized they like going to the office, spending time with coworkers, and how important being present is to your success.
It seems now the big excitement is on working hybrid. While that sounds like the best of both worlds (working remotely and working in the office), it doesn’t come without pitfalls either.
[ctt template=”3″ link=”eUa50″ via=”yes” ]While working hybrid sounds like the best of both worlds (working remotely and working in the office), it doesn’t come without pitfalls either.[/ctt]
A hybrid work environment will have people who work from home, people who work from the office, and people who do a little of both.
According to an Accenture study in 2021, 83% of employees prefer a hybrid model.
It sounds good, right? But will hybrid be what you want it to be for your lifestyle? The same study said that 68% of executives say that employees should be in the office at least three days per week.
Will you get to decide when you work from home and when you are in the office, or will your employer decide? If your employer tells you what days you should be in the office, will that take away some of the allure of hybrid work?
If you were requested to be in the office three days a week, you would most likely choose to work from home on Monday and Friday. Will your preference be considered? Will you get to choose, or will someone choose for you? Will you have the flexibility to choose your days based on schedule, weather, or personal preference, or will you be given your days with no flexibility at all?
The allure of a hybrid work arrangement is flexibility, but what if you have no flexibility? Will working hybrid still be attractive to you?
You probably know that hybrid isn’t the mecca anymore than working remotely was. Here are three pitfalls to watch for as you move forward with your hybrid arrangement.
- FOMO. Fear of missing out. This may sound juvenile, but it is real. If most of your team is in the office on Tuesday and Tuesday is not your day to be onsite, you will feel like you are missing out on the camaraderie, the information, and more. You may even think that you are being left out of conversations deliberately. This fear of missing information or fun will make you want to be in the office on the days your coworkers are in the office, and as discussed above, that may not be an option.
- Lack of Connection. Absence does not make the heart grow fonder, and while you don’t need to love your teammates, you need to feel connected. Relationships are essential to our success, and when we don’t have the opportunity to create these relationships, the connection isn’t as strong. When the connection isn’t as strong, it is easy to become ambivalent towards our job, coworkers, and company.
- Real-time Communication. If the team had an impromptu meeting that you were not part of, there might be no paper trail of communication for you to know what happened. You will be missing many of the watercooler conversations, the procedures that change may not be communicated, and emails get lost. Not all meetings will be held online once people return to the office. We certainly have experienced challenges with communication while working remotely, and it isn’t reasonable to think that returning to the office in hybrid form will fix that.
[ctt template=”3″ link=”TH4Bb” via=”yes” ]Working hybrid offers many benefits, but to think that it will be the perfect solution is short-sighted.[/ctt]
Working hybrid offers many benefits, but to think that it will be the perfect solution is short-sighted. Make sure you consider the pitfalls and build procedures to ensure you can alleviate as many of them as possible.
