By Oliver Mallett

 

Recent surveys of businesses and workers have identified tensions around what the future of work might look like.

As many as 85 per cent of those who are able to work from home have told the Office for National Statistics and others that, post-pandemic, they want to continue some element of working away from the office. However, while some businesses are introducing new ways of working more flexibly, as many as a third have reported significant uncertainties about what is commonly termed "hybrid working".

Hybrid working involves elements of both office-based and remote teleworking that is "anchored" by the business premises. Hybrid workers will not only work in the traditional office and at home, they may also work in hotels, cafes or designated co-working spaces.

Many of us will have worked in these places before, catching up on emails during the commute, getting some additional tasks done at home in the evening, or preparing for a meeting in a cafe or a client’s office. With the widespread adoption of remote working during the pandemic, these sites could become more prominent, creating significant opportunities but also challenges.

For some businesses, the attraction of hybrid working is reducing office costs, but it also gives the opportunity to work with greater flexibility and efficiency. Some tasks are suited to the peace and quiet of the home, while others suit the ad hoc collaborations found in the office.

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Effective collaboration can also take many different forms. People will want to find different ways of working that suit them and perhaps allow them to accommodate personal responsibilities. Where the use of hybrid working is effectively supported and inclusive, there is a lot of evidence for significant productivity gains and improved well-being, with benefits for both employees and employers.

As with any new business model, implementation and sustainability are key. To be successful, employees need support in terms of resources, including technology and equipment, but also in developing new skills. There has been evidence of the difficulties of integrating into a new job and of training and development when people are not working in the same space.

In addition to providing resources, there are also significant challenges for managers. Organising people who are sat together in an office is very different to organising a team of hybrid workers. Coordination, negotiation and support are needed to ensure that people are not just working effectively, but that they are working effectively as a team.

I defined hybrid working in terms of the "anchor" provided by the business’s premises. An interesting area for experimentation in large-scale hybrid working is how to make effective use of this anchor.

There are options around what resources an office can provide, what types of spaces are available and the opportunities for training and development. New ways of working and new routines will shape the role the business premises play as a central site for communication, interaction and collaboration, but also for forms of emotional support and relationship building.

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Given the sudden scale and scope of hybrid working, there are pressures on businesses to get it right. This situation requires more than just policies that dictate the number of days in the office, or increased managerial surveillance through technology.

The key to success will be greater degrees of trust and autonomy for workers and businesses to experiment to find what works. The complexity involved and the different situations, preferences and experiences of workers means that they need to experiment with what works for them and be trusted in determining how to best achieve their goals.

However, in organising such experimentation, there is clearly a need for support, negotiation and coordination to ensure effective collaboration. There will therefore be a need for upskilling and experimentation for managers too.

There are significant opportunities for hybrid working to increase productivity, well-being and inclusivity. These are likely to be achieved by those prepared and able to experiment and to take risks in an environment of trust and support.

Professor Oliver Mallett, University of Stirling Management School