Happy Hybrid

Being in the office is the new away day. Reap the rewards of workplace novelty. 

The hybrid workplace – where employees split time between home and office - has evolved from forced necessity to new normal.  

Whilst the pandemic left us little choice last year, now the hybrid model is optional.  Optionality can create confusion and inconsistency.  This is the second work culture upheaval in just two years. So, right at the heart of the new workplace is the need for change communications. 

Communicating rules and expectations is important.  But involve employees to reap the rewards of this brave new week. Each employee has different requirements and requests, opinions and options. Find that happy medium by listening hard.

When you listen and understand, your team is embedded and invested in decisions made.  There is a mutual exchange.  

Working from home requires trust between the employer and employee.  Recent stories of employees choosing to work from home, only to work second jobs, not quite serving either employer properly, does not instil confidence.  Similarly, overbearing bosses tracking input at the expense of impact, miss the point. 

Work is the ancient exchange of skills for money, to build or serve something bigger than both employee and employer, to their mutual advantage.

If an employer doesn’t deliver meaning and money, if the employee withholds skill and time, the exchange implodes.  That’s happening now: McKinsey found that 40 percent of workers globally are considering leaving their current employers by the end of the year. 

The bridge between home and work, between employer and employee, is culture.  Culture is defined by the connections and philosophy of a company.  Culture drives day-to-day business behaviours, decision making.  Take note, tribunal employment claims are up 27% with additional risks emerging as we adapt to new ways of working. 

Understanding the importance of people and culture creates the engrained understanding of what your business is, and more importantly, what your business isn’t. It creates norms, standards and expectations. Culture is bigger than your company.  Back to that mutual exchange – invest in culture and culture will deliver exceptional employees to build your company. 

Herein lies an opportunity to reinvent or enhance your company’s culture for the better. The happy hybrid medium is here to stay.