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During the pandemic, many offices switched to having their employees work from home. But once things started to normalize again, employers began to wonder about how or even if they could get their employees to come back to the office. Employees are often reluctant to go back, whereas employers may have reservations about keeping the remote working model. The solution for many businesses is turning out to be hybrid working, allowing business owners to save money and check in with their employees while giving employees the benefits of working from home. It can offer the best of both worlds in many ways, creating the perfect compromise.
Offers Flexibility to Employees
The reason many employees prefer to work from home is the flexibility that it offers. They can use their time more wisely, they don’t waste time chatting to colleagues at the water cooler, and they don’t have to commute. A lot of employees are happy with the hybrid model because it still allows them this flexibility for part of the week. Going to the office two or three days a week enables them to have more control over their time when they’re at home and they make the most of the days when they’re in the office too.
Employers Can Maintain Oversight
Employers often don’t like the idea of employees working remotely because they want to maintain oversight over their employees. As David DeQuattro points out, having employees back in the office can provide a range of benefits for employers. Moving to hybrid working can enable employers to get the oversight that they want, checking in with employees when they come into the office and making sure they’re on track with their work. At the same time, it can give employees a sense of freedom when working from home.
Training Can Take Place In-Person
One of the biggest issues for many when it comes to remote working is the difficulty of delivering training. It can be more difficult to do remotely, especially with new hires. Hybrid working can help to make it easier, ensuring the business still has an office space that can be used for training and development. When training is required, it can be arranged to take place in the office. It not only provides a better training environment but can also make other parts of onboarding new employees easier and give them a chance to get to know people in person.
Opportunities for Socializing
For employees who don’t like working from home, a key complaint is often that they feel isolated. They want the chance to talk to their coworkers and work together with others, instead of having to work alone or only communicate through technology. Hybrid working means that those who prefer to have opportunities to socialize can still come into the office, and may even be able to come in every day if that’s what they prefer to do.
Hybrid working can provide the best of both worlds to both employers and employees, giving everyone a little of what they want.
