In this article, we will explore the key role of hybrid work, focusing on the contributions of C-suite, managers, employees, and Human Resources (HR) departments.

C-suite: Redefine the new workplace

Enabling hybrid work is no longer merely a matter of IT or security. Instead,
the entire C-suite is joining together to redefine the new workplace
and the technology supporting it.

According to IDC research, 60% of European organizations make workplace strategy choices collectively by numerous members of the C-suite. By “The Okta Hybrid Work Report 2023”, the CEO is the major champion in 57% of organizations in Europe when it comes to introducing new working methods. However, stakeholders in Finance, Operations, IT, Security, Technology, and HR also play important roles.

This shows that where and how people work is now a strategic requirement for corporations and a board-level concern.

Stakeholders from various organizational departments all play important roles in influencing workplace strategy. They also have more say over the technology used to achieve their goals. To create efficient and successful solutions, technology and business teams must collaborate to understand one another’s needs and difficulties.

Managers: Facilitating a Smooth Transition

Managers play a critical role in the implementation of hybrid work arrangements. They must ensure that their teams have the necessary tools and resources to work remotely, while also maintaining productivity and collaboration in the office.

For managers, key responsibilities include:

1. Setting clear expectations: Effective communication is crucial in a hybrid work environment. Managers must establish expectations for work hours, availability, and communication channels to ensure that employees understand their responsibilities.
2. Adapting leadership styles: Managers need to adapt their leadership styles to accommodate both remote and in-office employees. This includes conducting regular check-ins, fostering a sense of belonging, and promoting open communication.
3. Measuring performance: Managers should establish performance metrics that account for remote work, and regularly review employee progress to ensure a fair evaluation process.

Employees: Adapting to New Ways of Working

Employees are essential to the success of hybrid work arrangements as they must adapt to new ways of working and collaborating.

This shift in organizational goals is reflected in Okta’s research. The major motivations for organizations to embrace a hybrid working paradigm are improving employee well-being, increasing productivity, and lowering expenses.

We can see the power of this need in organizations’ readiness to engage in efforts aimed at making hybrid work more comfortable and rewarding for workers.

To better serve their remote and hybrid workforces, the majority of respondents’ organizations are altering procedures and deploying new technologies.

More than three-quarters (77%) of those polled indicated their employer has implemented flexible working hours, and another 21% said their organization would not rule out a shift to more employee-centric scheduling tactics.

To improve the experience of their work-from-anywhere workers, the majority of European firms provide access to training, pay for home office equipment and expenditures, and provide access to corporate subscriptions and wellness initiatives.

For employees, key responsibilities include:

1. Embracing flexibility: Employees should be open to working both remotely and in the office, as required by their role and team dynamics.
2. Maintaining productivity: Remote work can present unique challenges, such as distractions and isolation. Employees should be proactive in addressing these issues and developing strategies to maintain productivity.
3. Communicating effectively: Effective communication is essential for collaboration and team cohesion. Employees should be mindful of their communication habits and ensure they are using appropriate channels and tools for remote work.

Human Resources: The backbone supporting Employees

Organizations are also investing heavily to overcome ‘proximity bias,’ the propensity among leaders to favor people who are physically closer to them in the workplace.

Nearly three-fourths of companies are currently enforcing measures to prevent remote workers from being disadvantaged in organizational processes; Sweden is the leader in combating proximity bias; however, more than half of organizations in both the Netherlands and Germany (57% in each) are also making such investments.

Human Resources (HR) departments are responsible for developing policies and providing support to ensure the successful implementation of hybrid work arrangements and overcome ‘proximity bias’. Key responsibilities include:

1. Developing hybrid work policies: HR should create clear policies and guidelines that outline expectations and requirements for remote and in-office work, and ensure that all employees are aware of these policies.
2. Providing resources and training: HR should provide employees and managers with the necessary resources and training to support remote work, such as technology tools, workspace setup guidelines, and time management strategies.
3. Ensuring inclusivity and fairness: HR must ensure that hybrid work arrangements do not inadvertently create disparities among employees. This includes monitoring remote work practices and adjusting policies as needed to promote fairness and inclusivity.

ONES: Your best choice for hybrid work

To help different parties to work together for developing a successful hybrid working environment, you need a smart office system like ONES.

ONES offers a range of features that cater to the needs of hybrid workers, such as room booking, desk booking, and visitor management. These features not only improve flexibility but also enhance the productivity of workers.

Moreover, as the article highlights, successful hybrid working requires a shift in mindset and a culture of trust and communication. ONES foster such a culture by providing real-time data and analytics on office usage and creating a sense of community through its social features.

By incorporating ONES into their workplace, companies can ensure the success of their hybrid work model. To learn more, schedule a demo today.

The post Who plays the key role in hybrid work? first appeared on ONEs Blog.

In the post-pandemic era, lots of leaders express that they have “productivity paranoia”, and find it highly challenging to have faith in their workers’ productivity due to the transition to hybrid work.

Would there be some way that can help to relieve these kinds of “productivity paranoia” for the decision-makers? This latest research from a Standford economist of WFH Research could help.

Why does hybrid working still stay?

This research “The Future of WFH” from Standford started in 2004. Currently monthly surveys of 10,000 US working-age adults and 1,000 US firms and discussion and consulting with 100s of organizations globally.

Based on this research, there are several benefits of hybrid working explain why this is becoming dominant:

Employees are happier

Employee value of a hybrid work environment is comparable to their value of an 8% salary raise. This indicates that even if their company offered them almost 10% more money to go back to work full-time, they would choose a hybrid policy—or to keep the one they now have.

Retain talents

Referring to the paper “How Hybrid Working From Home Works Out“, marketing and finance professionals found WFH reduced quit rates by 35%.

(Learn more about how hybrid working retain talent: GitLab: Flexibility is critical for retaining IT talent now)

Productivity is increased

Paper “How Hybrid Working From Home Works Out“, natural experiments and survey research suggest a small productivity boost from WFH of around 3% to 5%

(Learn more: What is Employee Productivity and how does it relate to Hybrid Working now?)

Supports diversity, equity, and inclusion

Data suggests that Hybrid-WFH can help support diversity in various dimensions, like 86% of Latinx / Hispanic, 81% of Asian/ Asian American and Black would prefer a hybrid of full remote work arrangement.

Hints about Hybrid WFH

Employees desire both autonomy and coordination

Decision-makers may struggle between providing enough flexibility to workers and maintaining coordination within the working group.

Based on the survey, actually employees desire both autonomy and coordination: 69.9% of people prefer being able to choose which days can work from home, while 75.6% of them would like their employers to set a policy that determines who works from home on which days.

Who decides which days and how many days employees work remotely? Based on the research, firms with 250+ employees would determine at the team level or by company. For smaller firms with less than 25 employees, the remote work pattern will be declined to be fully decentralized.

Number of days for WFH

Survey also questioned, “As the pandemic ends, how often would you like to have paid workdays at home? For each day last week, did you work a full day (6 or more hours), and if so where”.

Based on the responses to the question, only 16.3% of respondents would prefer rarely or never WFH after the COVID-19 pandemic, and most of them (83.7%) would like to have more than 1 day that can work from home.

Social capital: the benefit of working in the office

For asking about the top 3 benefits of working on an employer’s business premises, the employees answer as follows:

1. Face-to-face collaboration (54.8%)
2. Socializing (54.0%)
3. Work/personal life boundaries (44.4%)

Employees would like to come back to the office for 1 hour for communicating with colleagues, not for free bagels and drinks.

Action can be made for the most of Hybrid WFH

Stanford economist Nick Bloom stated some actions leaders can make the most of Hybrid WFH which can set culture to achieve “office time = group social time“:

1. Coordinate your team to come in on the same 2 or 3 days every week
2. Promote in-person meetings, events, coffee, training, and lunches on those office days
3. Suggest cross-office zoom meetings and reading, writing, data, etc on home days
4. For new hires (< 1 or 2 years), add an extra day in the office for mentoring

Learn more about productivity in the hybrid working era: https://ones.software/blog/?s=Productivity+

Develop your own hybrid office with our smart office system: https://ones.software/

The post Latest Stanford research reveals successful management strategies on Hybrid WFH first appeared on ONEs Blog.