{"id":164202,"date":"2022-06-17T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-06-17T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ict-pulse.com\/?p=164202"},"modified":"2022-06-16T18:52:02","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T23:52:02","slug":"hybrid-work-and-how-to-find-the-balance-between-onsite-and-remote-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ict-pulse.com\/2022\/06\/hybrid-work-and-how-to-find-the-balance-between-onsite-and-remote-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Hybrid work, and how to find the balance between onsite and remote work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Increasingly, existing and prospective employees are expecting remote work conditions in the workplace, but employers have been reverting to full-time onsite work arrangements. Hybrid work models can offer a middle ground, but to be effective, organisations need to be intentional about the arrangements they put in place.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Remote work, it is not going away. The pandemic taught us that working from home is indeed possible, and in many instances could be more productive than working onsite. However, with isolation restrictions being relaxed or completely abandoned, there has been a growing expectation working arrangements will revert to what they had been, and employees will return to the office full time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, having enjoyed a considerable reduction in travel time and cost, a more relaxed work environment, and the ability to introduce some flexibility in their schedules, employees are not as eager to return to the office. In fact, there have been reports that prospective hires are putting greater weight on being able to work remotely in deciding whether to accept a position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having said this, employers have also benefitted from having staff members work from home. First there are considerable cost savings to be realised in not needing to secure office space, and the attendant furniture, utilities, supplies and services. Staff morale reported also increased, and the cut-throat nature of office politics was usually minimised. Also, employees were generally more productive, resulting in improved outputs for the organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, with employers and employees being on the opposite ends of the spectrum, a compromise may be possible: hybrid work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is hybrid work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although definitions may vary, essentially, hybrid work is a flexible approach that allows employees to split their time between working in the office and working remotely. Regarding working remotely, there are variations, such as working from home, and working on the go, which to an employer, may have different constraints and administrative requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 Additionally, there is latitude in the type of hybrid work model organisations adopt. For example, a flexible hybrid model would allow employees, as often as on a daily basis, to decide whether they will work remotely or onsite. In contrast, in a fixed hybrid model, the days and times employees work offsite are agreed and established. There are also models that emphasise office-first or remote-first, and so employees are expected to spend more of their time in the location where the emphasis is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pros and cons of hybrid work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Without a doubt, hybrid work is widely considered the best of both world \u2013 providing some balance between remote work and working onsite. To that end, some of the benefits include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n