What the past three years have taught us about hybrid working
Linda Geddes
The Guardian 11/3/2023
Almost three years have passed since the first work from home mandate was introduced – and many people’s working lives have not been the same since. Some employees have never returned to a physical office, while others are adjusting to hybrid working. So what lessons can recent research teach us about how to make flexible arrangements work better?
Don’t fixate on the number of days
Many companies are still fixated on the number of days that employees should be in the office, with blanket policies for all staff. More appropriate would be to examine the type of tasks employees do and work from there, said Prof Jonathan Trevor at the University of Oxford’s Saïd Business School.
Based on interviews with managers from 20 companies, Trevor and his colleague Prof Matthias Holweg have developed a framework to help navigate these tensions. They found workplace tasks tend to fall into four categories: focused creative tasks, such as designing a brochure; individual procedural tasks, such as data entry; coordinated group tasks, such as project work; and collaborative creative tasks, such as product development or strategic planning.
Focused creative tasks are the easiest to transition to virtual work, because they require little teamwork and are easily supported by technology, while collaborative creative tasks are the hardest. “If you’re in that mode of work, maybe you should have more time in the office. If you’re doing individualfocused work, the balance may be more weighted towards virtual working,” Trevor said.
Find new ways to build corporate culture and identity
Weaker workplace ties could result in lower levels of staff loyalty and engagement. If staff rarely see senior leaders or socialise with colleagues, it can be difficult to establish a strong organisational culture – the collection of traits that make a company what it is. Weak organisational cultures tend to be associated with higher levels of conflict and mistrust.
Spending time in the physical workplace is therefore desirable – for everybody – and better orchestration of the virtual community is also necessary, Trevor said. “Managers need to develop skills to manage people in a virtual way that still keeps them engaged and helps them identify with the organisation they’re working for,” he added.
… and spot stress
Individuals tend to express stress or unhappiness in different ways, and managers or teammates may be less able to provide support if they rarely meet in person.
Hybrid working also creates new sources of stress, such as remembering to bring crucial documents or equipment into the office, and not having a straightforward daily routine.
While working from home removes the stress of the daily commute, work days can be more intense. “Remote working is often a highly productive way of working,” said Dr Christine Grant, an occupational psychologist at Coventry University’s Centre for Healthcare Research. “People may feel a pressure to keep on working, or want to keep on working, which impacts on their wellbeing.”
Avoid unnecessary virtual meetings
“Virtual meetings are very different to meeting people in person – they’re often quite focused; you get the meeting done, then move on to the next thing. It’s a very intense way of working,” said Grant.
The temptation to multitask can leach further brainpower, and video-call participants must work harder to send and respond to non-verbal signals compared with meeting face-to-face. It is also unnatural – and somewhat stressful – to watch a recording of your own face, or to hold such prolonged eye contact with other people, research suggests. “It has been said that there are only two types of situation where you would be so close to other people’s faces: one is if you were going to hit them, the other is if you were going to kiss them,” said Prof Gail Kinman, an occupational health psychologist at Birkbeck, University of London.
Recognise that not everyone benefits from working at home
Junior staff often don’t have the space at home to make work comfortable. “They also benefit a lot from on-the-ground learning from colleagues, and the socialisation that happens in the office,” said Prof Kerstin Sailer, an expert in the sociology of architecture at University College London. “Senior people often like being in the office and getting that kind of cross-functional overview between different roles and teams, or managing by presenteeism.”
Some staff may find online meetings immensely difficult, such as those with sensory impairments. Yet home working may help some neurodivergent individuals, by limiting social interactions and providing greater control over their environment, said Grant, who has been studying this issue.
Create a virtual commute
A major problem with home working is the blurring of work and personal life. “Although a lot of people don’t like commuting, it provides a kind of physical buffer zone between work and home,” said Kinman. Finding alternative ways to separate the work day from home life, and switch off the brain, is therefore important – whether that’s cycling around the block or dancing around your kitchen.
Rest if you’re ill
“Working while sick is something we’ve found has become much more common during the pandemic,” said Kinman. “In some ways it can be beneficial, because if your colleagues know you’re ill, you may be able to push out some of the unnecessary stuff and be more productive.” But there are downsides: by not allowing yourself time to switch off, you’re more likely to take longer to recover, and be at higher risk of future ill health – including mental health problems. Working while sick can also intensify feelings of detachment from your job, research suggests.
Rethink office design
If your workplace is now predominantly a site for teambuilding and creative group meetings, there may be less need for individual desks, and a greater need for additional meeting rooms and break-out spaces.
“Organisations are increasingly viewing their offices as social and collaborative hubs,” said Sailer, who recently published a hybrid office how-to guide. “It is possible that with hybrid working, companies may need less office space than before the pandemic, but this office space needs to be of premium quality and designed in a way that encourages attendance.”
Rather than reverting to the default “office equals desks, and everyone in five days a week”, Sailer believes organisations should see the pandemic as an opportunity to rebuild the workplace from the bottom up, so every day spent in the office is worth it.
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