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Getting Managers Aboard With Hybrid Work

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Hybrid working arrangements can be great, but performance gaps persist, with managers and employees differing sharply on how it’s all working out so far.

That’s the word from a survey of 2,000 managers and employees conducted by Unisys in partnership with HFS, which finds a divergence in management and employee views on hybrid work performance. About half of employees (49%) believe their hybrid work environments operate very effectively, while only 33% of managers rate their hybrid work models as highly.

The survey’s authors define hybrid work environments as working from home and spend one to two days per week in the office. It appears most companies still are trying to figure their way around this new style of workplace. Only 26% of managers state they have “strongly pivoted” their management style for hybrid work.

Nevertheless. 70% of executives indicate that hybrid will persist as their primary workforce model. Executive unease with hybrid and remote work may persist, but there are many companies which have enthusiastically embraced this model — and have adapted their management approaches accordingly.

Glean, an AI company, established a structured hybrid work policy has employees coming into the office three times a week, with workflows and events designed around this hybrid approach. “We intentionally spread out meetings and calls throughout the week, allowing for a mixture of both in-person and remote collaboration, ultimately resulting in more productive days,” says Arvind Jain, CEO and co-founder of Glean, and formerly an engineer with Google Search. “After a few weeks of testing, we found that having all meetings crammed into certain days limited productivity on both the meeting-heavy and meeting-less days, and adjusted the schedule to better fit our needs and reduce meeting burnout.”

At Redgate Software, “flexible-hybrid working is now business as usual,” says Steve Mitchell, CFO of Redgate Software. “We’ve embraced it in our UK, US, Australia and Germany locations and it’s been very successful. Our staff can choose to work from home or in the office, or a mixture of the two. The upside is that our collaborative approach to working in teams helped us move to remote working very quickly without disruption – and heightened international collaboration across the board.”

Another forward-looking company, MedRisk, made its hybrid working arrangement permanent in early 2021, with the majority of its employees working remotely. Sixty percent of the company’s 1,150 employees live close to its King of Prussia, Pennsylvania headquarters, with “the option to work a hybrid schedule where they choose when to work in the office and when to work from home,” says Bonnie Sawdey, chief people officer. At the same time, the company is able to cast a wide net for talent, she adds. “The ability to offer remote working allows us to source talent across 22 states.”

Technology helps provide a boost to hybrid and remote work arrangements. “Employees have access to technology that allows them to work effectively – laptop computers, VoIP and cell telephones, and cloud-based applications that can be accessed from anywhere,” says Sawdey. Collaborative cloud-based platforms “are also great ways to conduct training sessions and facilitate small group breakout sessions,” she says.

Hybrid or remote work arrangements also brings about some additional concerns for managers. Being 100% virtual may mean missing the sharing of important information. “It becomes even more important than ever to provide clarity around people’s accountabilities and objectives,” says Mitchell. “We lose a little in terms of day-to-day, in-person collaboration. We need to balance that with opportunities to meet up back at the office and share our experiences and knowledge.”

Simple burnout also is a challenge that needs to be addressed by managers. “The fact that employees no longer have a commute and everything they need to work is at their fingertips means some employees worked too much and felt as though they couldn’t get away from work,” says Sawdey. “There has clearly been a rise in mental health issues as well – particularly for those people who live alone and get their energy from being around others. Working from home isn’t for everyone, although almost everyone wants the flexibility to choose for themselves.”

Communication is vital. “Because some aspects of remote working are more challenging, people need to be more purposeful with their communications – you miss the drive-by conversations that took place in the hallway or by the coffee pot,” says Sawdey. “You also miss the impromptu meetings that take place throughout the day when problems or opportunities arise.”

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