Hybrid work isn’t the answer — here’s what to do instead
Hybrid work is already transforming economies with productivity gains, commuting changes, and lunching habits.
Ever since vaccination programs have allowed wealthy countries around the world to get back to work, there’s been a lot of arguing about what should look like, exactly.
While some companies have ditched their office rentals altogether, many knowledge workers are being required to go into the office 2 or 3 days a week.
Unless you design hardware — or have some other legitimate reason for physically being present in the office — forced hybrid work is a sham. A false compromise.
Remote work is growing for a reason, but hybrid work puts important workplace transformations on slow-mo.
Why does an office culture of constant interruptions and availability spill over to remote workdays? Many companies going hybrid haven’t really embraced remote work. They don’t trust it, they don’t like it, they don’t invest in it, and they don’t train their teams in it.
Office culture needed to change
From interruptions to frequent meetings to expensive office rentals to one-hour commutes, there are plenty of reasons why workers breathed a collective sigh of relief when given the chance to work from home.
Clearly, something needed to change. Remote work was already on the rise, and the pandemic accelerated that growth. From May 2020 to May 2021, fully remote job listings on LinkedIn increased 5X, with the biggest gains in non-senior positions. Many white-collar jobs will never be the same.
Remote workers are more productive
The start of the pandemic wasn’t a good time to analyze remote work productivity. Remote work productivity dipped slightly during the pandemic, with 67% saying their productivity was the same as in the office, and only 27% saying it was higher since they left the office. But remote workers were faced with homeschooling their kids, sudden loneliness, and other major life changes due to lockdowns. The number of anxiety screenings went up 643% between January 2020 and September 2020. Professional screenings for depression went up 873% during the same time.
Well before the pandemic, in 2017, 75% of remote workers reported being more productive on their individual tasks, and 51% felt more productive when working on collaborative tasks. The top reasons for the increases in productivity included fewer interruptions, more deep work time, a quieter and more comfortable work environment, and less involvement in office politics.
In the “post-pandemic” world (whatever that means), there’s already evidence that working from home is boosting productivity. The adoption of new technologies and less exhaustion from commuting are key factors in the current productivity gains.
Hybrid work isn’t a great compromise
96% of workers want some form of remote work. Twice as many want fully remote work as those who want hybrid work (65% versus 31%). Companies that require 2 or 3 days in the office are ignoring the overwhelming majority of employees who want to work from home.
Unfortunately, hybrid work is being pitched as a compromise. It’s being offered by big banks and corporations, as well as small businesses not quite ready for fully remote work.
The problem is that the hybrid model is based on distrust. Many employers don’t trust people will actually do their work and collaborate with one another. Some corporations have gone so far as to create a policy of mandatory in-office Mondays and Fridays, thereby communicating to employees that they don’t trust them to not take long weekends.
Sure, there are teams for whom hybrid work actually makes sense, but for most, it’s a consolation prize.
Do hybrid teams actually know how to work remotely?
There’s a big problem with hybrid work. I’ve heard stories from countless friends that the culture of interruptions and daily meetings transfers over. Unnecessary work meetings clog remote days. Slack messages continually ask “can you chat for 5 minutes?” There’s an expectation to prove one’s presence by being always available. This translates into always being interrupted.
Why does an office culture of constant interruptions and availability spill over to remote workdays? It’s because many companies going hybrid haven’t really embraced remote work. They don’t trust it, they don’t like it, they don’t invest in it, and they don’t train their teams in it.
Don’t use remote collaboration tools like walkie-talkies.
How to truly reap the benefits of remote work
The benefits of remote work include happy employees, trusting company culture, flexibility, work-life balance, and of course, productivity.
To really reap these benefits, you need to dive into everything that remote work entails. It’s about so much more saying goodbye to commutes.
I’ve spent years managing teams of 70+ people at Speach and Weet, both in a traditional office environment and fully remote.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
1 — Take advantage of asynchronous communication tools
Every morning, your employees should check their notifications and messages, then shove it all aside and go into 2–6 hours of deep work. Asynchronous communication is meant to be asynchronous (not at the same time).
Don’t use remote collaboration tools like walkie-talkies. Check them only when you need to.
2 — Re-train your team to protect everyone’s deep work time
You need to re-train the entire company not to interrupt each other constantly. Otherwise, bad office habits will just seep into remote working. Instead of asking one another to “jump on a call,” send asynchronous videos and task card comments that can be checked later.
3 — Trust your people
Hire go-getters. The world is full of people with incredible work ethics. Find the ones who truly care about your customers and your company mission and trust them to do what they were hired to do.
4 — Provide coworking credits and home office allowances
What about the social butterflies who miss office life? Maybe they are young, living in a new city, and want to meet new people. Or maybe they’re an extrovert, plain and simple.
When setting up remote work policies, I don’t forget about people who want to hang out during their breaks. We offer credits that our employees can use at coworking spaces or office rentals. The solution isn’t to force all employees to work in an office, but to offer a community for those who want it.
At the same time, we also want our at-home employees to experience comfier, quieter working spaces. To do this, we offer a monthly allowance for headphones, office furniture, and of course connectivity.
5 — Allow schedule flexibility (not just location flexibility)
Stop paying people based on time logged. I’ve heard of so-called remote employees who have to use computer activity tracking software to prove that they’re really working from 8 to 5.
I don’t manage this way. If a night owl employee wants to start their day late and work until midnight, that’s fine with me. We’re all on different schedules.
I’m not saying you should never see each other in person. I’m saying that you shouldn’t expect in-person interactions to solve bigger problems with trust, performance reviews, and respecting deep work.
6 — Measure based on performance
So many organizations that are touting in-office work are only doing so because they haven’t implemented metrics that make someone’s presence in an office irrelevant.
For each role and team, have a set of production-based KPIs and results-based KPIs. Work with employees to help them meet these goals.
7 — Get together in person 2–4 times a year
I’m not saying you should never see each other in person. I’m saying that you shouldn’t expect in-person interactions to solve bigger problems with trust, performance reviews, and respecting deep work.
I’m a big believer in team-building. While we’ve done quarterly retreats in the past, I’ve found that twice a year is perfect. We bring our teams together from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Paris, and other parts of the world for two or three days. We play games, chat, and get to know each other on a human level. These human connections carry over in our respect and understanding for each other during asynchronous communication. These events also help us feel more motivated and tapped into the company mission.
Are there some good use cases for hybrid work? Sure. Will hybrid work prolong the adoption of better technologies and habits? Definitely.
So pay attention to what you’re really getting when you say you’re going hybrid.
