Look around at the typical news sources. Some of them are proclaiming doom for the vaunted “hybrid work model” in which businesses allow their workforce to work remotely several days a week while limiting in-office time. These same news sources and pundits were, not too long ago, singing the praises of the digital enterprise and its ability to adapt during unprecedented times. There’s no doubt that many business leaders crave a return to pre-pandemic times, when their devoted workers would trudge through awful commutes, sit through endless meetings, and deal with all of the Dilbert-like annoyances of life inside of an office.
However, it’s mid-2021…and workers have moved on both physically AND emotionally. Simply put: the hybrid work model is here to stay.
Some businesses might see the dramatic drop in coronavirus cases (even though the Delta variant is causing upticks and surges across the country) and a splurge of available vaccines as a ticket back to normalcy. “Normal,” as in “Let’s go to the pub down the street” or “Let’s catch a screening of “Space Jam,” sure, alright. “Normal,” as in “Let’s go to the office five days a week”? Nope.
Workers have had a near-18-month period in which they have not only been enabled with the ability to work from home (or anywhere with an internet connection), but also the very spirit of flexibility in how they approach their roles, projects, and overall workload. Businesses adapted to changing times, shifting how they measured productivity and the overall impact of their workforce. That flexibility has cascaded into how workers and business professionals structure their days, interact with their family, coordinate child care and related activities, and ultimately how they choose to apply their time across various projects and initiatives. Employee well-being has also rocketed up the priority list, with nearly 68% of businesses expected to integrate employee well-being into remote and hybrid workforce structures, according to upcoming Future of Work Exchange research. One of the many silver linings of the “greatest remote work experiment in history” was that so many business professionals now had the ability to incorporate exercise and well-being directly into their workday, choosing a mid-afternoon jog instead of a pre-commute run, or a late morning Peloton ride in-between video meetings.
Let’s forget, for a moment, that the hybrid work model is often centered around physical proximity and instead focus on mental energy. The hybrid work model is more than just telecommuting; it revolves around the notion that business leaders care about their workers and want them to be productive and happy. There is a symbiotic link between the talent experience and the hybrid work model that cannot be ignored ever again. With diversity and inclusion at its most important inflection period (and rightfully so, as a core component of the Future of Work movement), creating an “inclusive” culture and workplace translates into ensuring that employees are happy, healthy, and feeling welcomed by their peers and leaders. With so much of the Future of Work revolving around productivity and business outcomes, enterprise leaders must ensure that they are designing flexible work environments that allow an “elastic” means of getting work done, which includes a level of empathy and well-being in how they manage their total workforce.
While the media may be feeling pressure to report on the “Next Normal,” they are forgetting that the changes over the past year weren’t temporary, but rather fundamental shifts in how businesses operate moving forward. Nearly 90% of businesses, according to FOWX research, expect a sharp increase in remote work over the next 18 months. Furthermore, the expected percentage of workers operating in remote or hybrid environments is expected to double by the time 2021 ends, from 21% pre-pandemic to nearly 40% at the end of the year. The technologies and tools now available to even the smallest of businesses means that flexibility, collaboration, and productivity can all converge to result in positive business outcomes.
