Intentional Hybrid Working Policies

Recently a client remarked that, with their company’s WFH policy, they were often the only person on their team in the office. Everyone else was at home. Work was getting done. Productivity was not the concern of my client or their leaders. However, they expressed that not only was it lonely, it reduced the potential for innovation and improvement. No spontaneous brainstorming or innovative improvements occurred as a result of a random comment – something my client enjoyed when the team was in.

I find it both sad and counter intuitive when employees of organizations with an open hybrid policy express frustration that without a defined and agreed upon “office-day” they are often one of few members of the team on-site. They go in to the office to zoom alone.

Meanwhile, Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report states that “Twenty percent of global employees are lonely — and it's worse for younger workers and those who are fully remote.”

So I read with interest today’s Amazon news to return to the office in order to be ‘better set up to invent, collaborate, and be connected enough to each other’ according to the CEO. Meanwhile, the UK government is embracing flexible working and touts the "real economic benefits" to people working from home.

There are benefits to both hybrid and on-site work policies. (I have long enjoyed WFH!)

So what’s the solution? What is optimal?

What is the desired outcome?

I haven’t read much recently about Intentional work-location policies or intentional collaboration, and I think it is a conversation many organizations would benefit to revisit. Hybrid – and remote - policies that maximize the benefits of collaboration, innovation and creativity work well - with intentional leadership.

Intentional policies start by creating opportunities to collaborate that are specific, achievable and agreed to, and they need leaders who will maximize the time together (more-so when fully remote and on-line!), seed opportunities to collaborate, nurture new shoots of cooperative initiatives, and amplify such opportunities.

Intentional hybrid models, well executed, not only develop the glue that will support the team ambiance while remote, they may provide clarity to senior leadership on planning and decisions around office-space. When well done, organizations and employees can benefit.