What exactly is hybrid working?

Hybrid working doesn’t have an exact definition but loosely speaking, it’s a situation where people work from one or more locations on a regular basis.

In effect, it’s a type of flexible working that specifically refers to the location in which work is carried out.

But it’s not fully remote working either.

Typically, it’s taken to refer to a situation where employees work in an office or other workspace for part of their working week and from their home (or another remote location) for the remainder.

So, let’s be clear.

We’re not talking about a Wednesday working from home because the boiler’s broken and the employee needs to wait in for the service engineer.

We’re not on about the occasional request to take a laptop home and concentrate on a project or piece of work to meet a deadline.

This is a regular and consistent way of working.

What are the benefits?

Benefits to working from home have been experienced by both employer and employee alike.

For employees, these include:

• Better work/life balance.
• Greater ability to focus with fewer distractions.
• More time for family and friends.
• Time to build exercise into the working day.
• Saved commuting time and costs.
• No bad weather to deal with on the way in to work.
• IT upskilling.
• Increased productivity.
• Higher levels of motivation.

Employers have also found benefits to supporting flexibility, including:

• Savings on office space and associated overheads.
• Ability to recruit with flexibility of location and possible lower salary expectations with little or no commuting costs.
• Video conferencing makes arranging meetings easier and cheaper.
• Higher levels of employee satisfaction and engagement.
• Increased productivity.
• Reduced absence rates.

It’s too soon to say quite what a positive impact it will have on recruitment campaigns to include flexible working options; however, it’s extremely likely that it will boost an employer’s brand as an attractive place to work.

Points to consider

• Technology and equipment;
• Communication;
• Costs;
• Employee wellbeing;
• Manager training and development;
• Legal implications;
• New employee onboarding;
• Boundaries.

What’s next

If you do decide that hybrid working forms part of your business future, contact us for further information and guidance on how to write, introduce and manage your hybrid working policy in your team.