Reflets Magazine #146 | Is Hybrid Working an Evolution or Revolution in Work Spaces?

In Reflets Magazine #146, Marie-Anne Morin (E04), founder of Reaas Expertise and a specialist in flexible service property, analyses the term ‘hybrid working’, which has generated much debate since its entry into the highly respected Oxford English Dictionary last year. Here is a free online translation of the article… subscribe to get the next issues (in French)!

Hybrid working is the ability to work or study from home, a third place (co-working or business centre, hotel or coffee bar, etc.) or at company headquarters.

This transformation owes its origins to the digital revolution initiated in the 1970s. The office is no longer a set place. We do not go into ‘the office’ every morning. We work. Our place of work is now a digital space, with documents stored in a cloud, accessible on all our devices (tablet, computer, phone) and shared with our workmates, customers and partners worldwide.

Given all this, why get up early, spend hours commuting, pollute, waste time and spend money getting to the office with our mobile tools to leave the office again in the evening? Its only usefulness is in human interaction and the need to meet the people we work with.

This shift has occurred at a rapid pace. According to Forbes, 72% of companies in 2020 had no clear policy in terms of hybrid working.

A few months and two lockdowns later, in April 2021, 63% of businesses had implemented a hybrid working model which was more ecological, flexible and productive. By responding to workers’ needs and expectations, companies enabled them to become more focused and effective. In fact, 87% of workers² claim they prefer this form of hybrid working.

What is a hybrid working policy?

This is a managerial approach focused on the employee and aimed at raising staff productivity and satisfaction by addressing the biggest challenges of remote working, i.e. the feeling of isolation and the lack of community.

Hybrid working allows workers greater flexibility and the possibility to work from home or elsewhere. Each employee chooses their place of work according to the tasks to be accomplished on the day (administrative / meetings / appointments, etc.).

The company needs to consider two key options for hybrid working.

The hybrid model: fixed or flexible

In the case of a flexible model, staff choose their hours and place of work according to their daily schedule: if they need to spend time focusing on a project, they may opt to work at home, or from a co-working space close to home. If they wish to work as a team, meet with their colleagues or follow training, they come to the office. 

This trust-based model provides total flexibility to workers and saves on property and transport costs. Nevertheless, it can be difficult to find meeting days which suit everyone, and the management of flows and available desk spaces in the office becomes more complex.

With a fixed model on the other hand, the company decides which days and times staff may be absent from the office or work remotely. For example, one team will be in the office on Mondays and Wednesdays, and another team on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

This is a more suitable arrangement for teamwork and enables staff to reduce commuting times on the set days. It is much easier to organise desk occupation. Nevertheless, this lack of flexibility may lead to a fall in productivity if the week’s schedule is not aligned with days of on-site presence.

Should the hybrid model prioritise the office or remote working?

In the first instance, staff are required to be present in the office, but have the flexibility to choose a number of days to work from home or in a third place. This allows everyone the freedom to choose their days, while maintaining a strong company culture. It is crucial, however, to use the right tools, without which it will be impossible for an employee to know if the people they wish to work with are present on the same day. This also applies to the management of staff numbers within the company.

In the second case, employees work remotely most of the time and come together in co-working spaces or the company offices for meetings and training sessions. In the extreme version of this scenario, the company no longer possesses fixed office space.

The first advantage is financial, as the company’s property costs are drastically reduced. However, while this increases productivity and satisfaction for those preferring to work mainly from a distance, there is a genuine risk some employees will feel isolated and lose all notion of company culture.

What are the advantages of implementing hybrid working?

Hybrid working is more environmentally-friendly, more productive and flexible, and aims to ensure a happier work-life balance for employees.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that millions of people no longer needed to commute on a daily basis. An ever-growing number of employees thus work partially from home or a third place close to home. At present, 77% of employees say that the distance between their home and workplace will be a decisive factor in a future job search.²

Companies also benefit from this change. They no longer need to house rows of desks in the most expensive business districts. They can re-design their office spaces to cater for meetings and collective work, with ‘drop-in points’ closer to their employees’ homes.

For local authorities, this offers an opportunity to (re)vitalise whole districts and introduce other facilities. It enables local consumers to remain in the vicinity of their homes for shopping and recreational activities, such as going to a gym closer to home rather than near the office.

This does not mean offices will disappear, but they will undergo a radical transformation to adapt to the new expectations of workers.

¹ Accenture Future of Work Study, April 2021

² PwC Remote Working Study, January 2021

Translation of an article published in Reflets Magazine #. Read the issue (in French). Get the next issues (in French).

Image : © AdobeStock