When it comes to hybrid working there is no one-size-fits-all approach, according to Martin Borson and Carmel Moore. So to create lasting change, companies must recognise that it will be an ongoing process based on transparency and trust
When the pandemic hit, businesses were thrown into a state of upheaval with little to no time to prepare. Forced out of the office, teams were set up with a laptop, Zoom and the promise of a simple virtual working alternative.
However, lockdown persisted, and now over a year later most businesses still find themselves using remote working as part of the business day.
Although it was originally intended only as a temporary measure, remote working has fundamentally changed the way we think about work. As well as being able to connect from any location, the boundaries between personal and working life have blurred, we start later in the morning and work into the evening and are no longer tied to the same tight and inflexible traditional schedules.
But lockdown also brought revelations about the true potential of the workforce. Employees can be trusted to work hard and efficiently, without constant management or daily check-up meetings. Less time is lost to commuting and the new home focus gives individuals more control over how they spend their days.
Recognising that the new pattern is here to stay, many companies have announced the advent of ‘hybrid working’, stating a commitment to adopt flexible working opportunities. However, as companies begin the steady integration of some employees back into the office, hybrid working is often a ‘bolt-on’.
Its impact on working life must be acknowledged but no company seems certain how to effectively embed it into the new norms of workplace culture. Some of the efforts we have seen are overly simplistic, hinging on the belief that the two systems will seamlessly meld together, with the most significant emphasis placed on just one question: how many days a week people are expected to work from the office?
This approach echoes too much of the 19th century working model, where work is defined by where you are and how much time you spend doing something. In the industrial era, work could also be clearly measured by tangible inputs and outputs.
Hybrid working subverts every one of those entrenched standards, creating the opportunity to work beyond designated office hours, from any location. At best, it will enable us to prioritise a healthy work-life balance and honor diversity; at worst, it will create more stress, less time off, and new forms of discrimination.
As such a new phenomenon, one thing is clear, we don’t yet know ‘how to hybrid’, and businesses need guidance moving forward.
Employ hybrid working based on values, not productivity
With the extra freedom remote working provided, people have had the chance to discover what they truly valued most. As companies look to introduce hybrid working for the long term, it is important that they take into consideration what their employees value and appreciate that these things may have changed since last working in the office. Fostering a culture of transparency and continued dialogue encourages a hybrid working model with a strong foundation, where every person feels comfortable to share their opinions and contribute to the construction of business strategies.
This perspective is a significant move on from the formulaic time management and efficiency practices that many companies still chase. Businesses should work towards replacing that out-dated approach to working life with a new structure modelled on how employees perceive their hybrid working time. Carefully curated and consistent conversation between employees and leadership can create a hybrid working model that satisfies everyone.
‘Carefully curated conversation’ means a program of intentional company-wide talks where everyone has the chance to provide input, and leaders can receive real and honest feedback.
Too often in trying to adopt hybrid working, businesses focus only on practical change: investing in new technology or altering the layout of the office to be more ‘collaborative’, but this is only surface level, and to be effective, hybrid working must be the product of a deeper conscious choice.
Making sure that the vulnerable are not left behind
While implementing a new way of working, it is easy for the most vulnerable people to be left behind. New recruits, part-time employees, working parents or location-based workers may fall victim to a lack of choice in how they spend their days, or feel constricted by an externally opposed structure.
In a recent study from the ONS, those working from home were reported as almost half as less likely to receive a promotion. This is put into stark relief when also considering the difference between how men and women spent their time during lockdown last year. Women spent more time in childcare, education and doing housework than men, and reported higher levels of depression and anxiety.
Moving into a hybrid working model, businesses must consider the differing experience of employee groups throughout the pandemic and appreciate that they are all entering the new structure from a different starting point.
For those not in a position of seniority or tied down by factors such as a remote location or childcare responsibilities, hybrid working does not represent the same freedom to choose as for others. Instead, it risks creating a whole new range of disparities between those forced to stay at home, and those who can work from either location.
If we adopt hybrid working without enough thought and preparation, we will only be papering over inequalities that continue to persist. Allowing for gradual adaptation and ensuring an understanding of diverse needs will be essential as businesses move into hybrid working.
Leaders must be actively involved in hybrid working, too
Hybrid working policies must be embraced within an organisation across all levels. It’s important that leaders do not exempt themselves from the principles and practices put in place. Individuals should not be expected to navigate hybrid working by themselves, and reciprocation from leadership validates flexibility and organisation-wide change. Introducing hybrid working will require active, ongoing engagement from all sides of the business, facilitated and hosted by leaders.
One practical way to start this process is to ask people questions about what went well during their time spent working from home during lockdown. For example, ‘What went well when the whole team collaborated on that product launch?’. Leaders should also address what their team wants from the future, or their expectations moving forward, e.g., ‘What is the ideal arc of your day?’. And lastly, leadership must engage with their employees’ fears, asking ‘Do you worry that time spent working in the office will be perceived as more valuable than time spent working at home?’.
This approach fosters transparency and ensures that adequate support structures are put in place for gradual and sustainable change.
Hybrid working is still a very new concept. To succeed it needs careful planning, with enough time, money and resources dedicated to experiment, refine, and learn. We can’t assume that it’s enough just to tweak the old structures of work, created in the 19th century, and apply them to the new hybrid world.
To create lasting change, companies must recognise that it will be an ongoing process based on transparency and trust. There is no one-size-fits-all fix.
Martin Borson and Carmel Moore are time consultants and directors of The One Moment Company.
Martin Boroson is an executive coach, Yale MBA, former psychotherapist and author of One Moment Meditation.
Carmel Moore, better known as The Calendar Coach, is a former EY Tax Partner, FTSE 100/Fortune 500 Tax Director and now an organisational development consultant.
Together, Carmel and Martin help leaders break through the time barrier. Their next online leadership masterclass ‘The New Rules of Time’ starts in October. Find out more here.
