How to Optimise Hybrid Work for your Organisation

How can we maintain a sense of sanity, productivity and connection with our teams?

The third year of #WFH is upon us and yet again we're back to working under the same roof as our partners, children, flatmates, dogs, cats and ourselves.

There are endless benefits to working from home but remote work for extended periods means we can miss the office. The social interaction, daily jokes and coffee breaks help us feel connected. Depending on your organsiation's policy, you may be working remotely, in the office or both.

2022 brings the same challenges, if not reinvented.

Even with a keen preference for flexibility, there are still hurdles to overcomes. Telstra's research shows that 71% of employees experience major barriers to adopting hybrid work with technology and distractions being top reasons.

Work is not tied to a specific location anymore. With that, employees have shifted their attitude and expectations of work to prioritise wellbeing and flexibility. The Adecco Group found that 75% of people want a hybrid work model of 50/50 office and remote work. Hybrid is the future and PwC's 2021 report 'Rewriting the future of work with hybrid workplaces' emphasises the importance of reimaging the office space to join physical and non-physical elements.

How can remote and in office workers be connected?

Swinburne University's Hybrid Work 2.0: Humanising the office report shows four core strategies for hybird work adoption being; co-design of a hybrid model and flexible culture, fostering meaningful social interactions in the office, designing a space for collaboration and developing a hybrid working charter.

These steps can help organisations of any size adopt hybrid work models that strive for collaboration and connection no matter what days you work for home.

If organisations can successfully adopt these hybrid models, teams may see increased productivity. Australia's Media and Technology industry reported a 49% increase in creativity, according to Telstra. WIth more virtual meetings, employees come prepared with ideas and use the meeting to refine concepts rather than work alone. Creativity will undoubedtly be a benefit of hybrid work in 2022 with the right strategies in place.