What is Hybrid Working? Definitions, Downfalls and Perks

We interviewed almost 400 global business leaders to understand how they’re adapting their real estate strategies for the years to come. The results, published in our latest edition of (Y)OUR SPACE, illustrate that three main flexible working policies will trend: hub and spoke models, working from anywhere and hybrid working. We dive into the buzz around hybrid working, exploring its definitions, benefits and downfalls.

At half nine, you sit down at your kitchen table to catch up on emails. At 11, you set off to meet your team for a brainstorming session in a breakout space, grab some lunch together in a nearby café, then settle down at your desk for a Zoom call. Your manager sits beside you, on hand to answer any questions and bounce ideas around with.

Nearby teams chatter away, and without realising, you get up to speed with what’s happening across the wider department. Throughout the week, you continue to alternate between team days in the office; meeting clients in coworking spaces; and hunkering down at home in between family commitments.

This is the world of hybrid working, a flexible working arrangement that has begun to trend, especially now that many of our assumptions around work – and what individual employees need – have evolved.

Throughout the week, you continue to alternate between team days in the office; meeting clients in coworking spaces; and hunkering down at home in between family commitments.

What is the hybrid working model? And what are its benefits?

Definitions of hybrid working are wide and varied. The term is often confused with dynamic working (which mainly focuses on output rather than hours clocked) or agile working (which focuses on moving between different environments within the office, from phone booths through to standing desks).

The hybrid working model gives employees the freedom to work wherever they’re most productive. Weeks are usually split between home and the office, or any equivalent workspace, such as a café, a close-to-home office space or a central HQ.

For businesses, it makes both environmental and commercial sense for workers to find the right place for the task at hand, feel empowered to do their job well, and follow a working schedule that fits in with their lives.

How to implement a hybrid working model

Though it seems simple enough to implement hybrid working, putting it into practice involves a lot of planning. The logistics are incredibly challenging, especially when you’re aligning your plans to business objectives, employee preferences, company culture and office plans.

When mapping it out, it’s better to think of hybrid working as a spectrum made up of two moving parts: the amount of collaboration you want across your business, and your workers’ abilities to work virtually.

Writing in (Y)OUR SPACE, Joanna Dixon explains businesses need to consider four elements: the tasks and activities your organisation carries out; the environments that support these activities; the key working relationships – and who they exist between; and the culture and purpose of your business, including what motivates your employees.

Crucially, different roles will need different setups, so it’s worth profiling employees to understand who has a functional need to be in the office, and for whom location is less important.

For businesses, it makes both environmental and commercial sense for workers to find the right place for the task at hand.

As the world of work evolves, how can you stay competitive?

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What are the downfalls of a hybrid working model?

Despite trending amid ‘office of the future’ predictions (83% of workers want to go hybrid post-Covid), the flexible working model has recently received some bad press. Perhaps that’s because over the past few months, hybrid working has shifted from theory to practice – with very little planning.

In fact, while nine in 10 businesses plan to utilise both WFH and the office, “68% of businesses have no detailed plan as to how they’ll actually do it,” writes Jack Needham in Wired. Many businesses, (including tech giants) are testing and trialling plans, or even “making it up on the fly.”

Now, issues around company culture, office space, proximity bias and internet security have had some time to surface.

Those regularly working from the office, for example, run the risk of developing a new type of culture or ‘tribe’, which those more commonly working from home feel left out of, leading to a ‘two-track workforce’. Some companies have already started to offer group lunches and sports tournaments to ensure everyone feels included.

It’s easy to forget that unless remote workers are specifically told something, they’ll be out of the loop. Office workers, on the other hand, are privy to background chatter and experience those impromptu hallway chats with colleagues they wouldn’t otherwise cross paths with.

It’s easy to forget that unless remote workers are specifically told something, they’ll be out of the loop.

One major issue businesses might face when implementing the hybrid working model is figuring out what to do if it doesn’t work.

Amanda Lim

Head of Flexible Office Solutions

Plus, there have been fears around hybrid working perpetuating ‘proximity bias’, whereby employees who are in the office and visible to company leaders are perceived as better workers, and therefore more likely to achieve success over their remote colleagues.

Culture aside, hybrid working – or in fact any flexible working policy that includes working from home – is subject to security risks. Domestic internet connections tend to be much less secure than corporate ones, and for workers who handle sensitive data, businesses may need to invest in more robust systems.

On top of that, organising who comes in on which days can be a huge feat. In fact, workers are increasingly anxious about unclear hybrid working schedules “that inhibit their ability to make even short-term work plans.” According to Professor Peter Cappelli in the Wall Street Journal, you should follow this basic rule: “Your boss’s schedule is your schedule.” So far, Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays are the most popular office days.

And once you’ve organised who needs to be in when, you need an office space that matches up to your plan – in both size and function. Amanda Lim, Head of our Flexible Office Solutions explains: “One major issue businesses might face when implementing the hybrid working model is figuring out what to do if it doesn’t work. Let’s say, for example, you plan to only have 50% of your workforce in the office on any given day, so you organise your office space accordingly.

“What happens when, six months down the line, things aren’t working? Perhaps more people want to come in on the same days, and you need more desk space? Or vice versa. It’s a huge learning curve, and unfortunately, you might not truly know what works until you’ve trialled it. For businesses who are at a crossroads, flexible office space certainly goes some way in remedying that uncertainty.”