There’s no getting ‘rid’ of hybrid working, so here’s how to make it work

WFH (work from home) and IRL (in real life) have become everyday acronyms. Before the pandemic, just under 5% of people worked from home in the UK (ONS), whilst by the end of last year, more than a quarter of us worked from home in some capacity. Our working rhythms and patterns within organisations are a hot topic of debate, and this year, there is another acronym that’s gathered momentum: RTO (return to office). 

Changes to flexible working: what’s driving the return to the office?

Large companies such as Dell and Amazon are mandating people to work from the office full time, five days a week, with the latter’s CEO, Andy Jassy, citing collaboration and innovation as key reasons. It’s not just tech companies that have been part of this movement; WPP - the world's largest advertising agency - has told staff to be in the office four days a week. They’re even offering free lunches on a Friday.

So are our WFH days over? 

Not if the Employment Rights Bill has anything to do with it. The Bill is being updated to provide people with an opportunity to ask for flexible working from day one. So, what is the right thing to do when it comes to setting our rhythms and patterns? 

It is important to recognise that there are advantages and disadvantages to both WFH and IRL. 

Research shows that some tasks are easier to perform at home and others in the office: employees rated technical tasks, reading and tasks where concentration is needed as being better undertaken at home, whilst collaboration, communication and meetings are far easier when face to face. 

The question is how to reap the rewards that hybrid working has to offer.  

Job flexibility and working from home: practical tips for hybrid success

• A one-size-fits-all approach is not going to work. Your balance and preferences will be unique based on your industry sector and the type of work your teams deliver. Even between teams in the same organisation, the ways of working will be different. At The Unmistakables, we advise our clients to utilise a PCAV framework (principles consistent, application varied) to set out overarching working principles as an organisation and then map out how this can be applied to different teams.

• Regardless of whether you are fully WFH or fully IRL, you can create spaces for focused work or collaboration. Gathering employee feedback is key to getting this right. Based on that, you may want to create clear guidelines for remote collaboration and asynchronous communication, alongside exploring the provision of quiet areas for focused work within the office. 

• Respect individual differences. The biggest drawback of a uniform approach to working is the failure to accommodate individual differences. This leads to homogeneity, which is the antithesis of inclusion. One of the reasons that the Employment Rights Bill is being amended is to ensure that, from day one, employees have clear and simple processes that outline their needs. Organisations need to be ready to have these conversations and think creatively about rhythms and patterns and ways of working. You can be on the front foot by asking about working schedules and preferences through the recruitment process.

• Be aware of proximity bias. Whilst there may be some core days for coming into the office, others may choose to come in more often, so you need to ensure that opportunities and promotion decisions are not offered to those who are simply around more. Monitoring your people processes for bias and refining them to mitigate the effects of bias will contribute to fair and objective decision-making and more diversity of experience in your teams. Analyse your people data, retention rates, and who is being promoted within the organisation to help you understand if proximity bias is at play within your place of work.  

If you’re curious to know how your rhythms and patterns are working, why not take a look at our assessment tool?