How to Overcome Challenges in a Hybrid Workspace

Key Highlights

• Employers should always give employees clarification when necessary.
• Develop methods for employees to cooperate and share new ideas, including using technology and digital tools to support communication.
• Use location flexibility and a hybrid company culture to support employees' work.
• Team management is essential in any company because it allows employees and employers to collaborate and learn from one another.

Lack of Clarity

Lack of clarity is a challenge in hybrid work. Hybrid work policies should explain how many days to work in the office and at home. When employees converse through a screen, words might easily be misunderstood. Employers should establish standards for how the team should collaborate, and they should clarify who is responsible for what and discuss areas of conflict. Companies can develop policies based on employee input on how hybrid working makes them more productive.

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Breaking Barriers to Effective Collaboration

Achieving effective collaboration can be a challenge in hybrid working. Employers face the problem of creating an environment where employees can effectively cooperate and increase productivity. Companies can utilize various tools to help teams collaborate as technology progresses and the digital world expands. Employees may miss out on peer communication. Informal virtual meetings are an option for learning what colleagues are working on and offering ideas.

• Agree a purpose for contact, such as sharing progress or exchanging ideas.
• Choose a suitable channel together, such as chat, email or a meeting; avoid unnecessary meetings.

These suggestions reflect UK Acas guidance on keeping in touch.

Optional activities to try with your team include:

• Event Planning: organize company events 
• Team Engagement: offer coffee meetings and team activities  

Planning Office Space

Location flexibility is one of the benefits of hybrid working. Employees have the option of working onsite or remotely. The question that remains is how many desks and conference rooms should be kept.

1. Compare planned attendance with usable desk capacity for each office day.
2. Check meeting-room demand separately: how many rooms are needed at the same time?
3. Resolve shortages before confirming attendance or deciding to reduce office space.

Illustrative example: If 24 employees plan to attend but only 20 desks are usable, there is a shortage of 4 desks. Adjust attendance or find 4 more usable desks, then check meeting rooms separately.

Company Culture 

Companies and employees have adapted to the modern working style, but maintaining a positive workplace culture remains a struggle. How can businesses convince their employees nationwide to share the same values? While considering the hybrid approach, firms must also modify their culture. For example, Slack can be used to foster a hybrid work culture. Creating non-work channels on Slack can assist to engage staff. Finding coworkers with similar interests can make work more pleasurable and help build connections.

Effective Work-Life Balance

Finding balance in hybrid work requires clear boundaries to avoid working longer than necessary. Setting boundaries between work and personal life is critical, and employers should encourage their staff to turn off their laptops. Setting core hour policies that include flexible time for personal duties can help in maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Clear hybrid work policies can help employees protect time to rest.

Managing Split Teams 

It might be difficult for companies to manage team members who operate in different time zones. Some employees work entirely from home, and others work in the office and from home. Employees may miss out on the perks that hybrid delivers. Working from home can make you feel overlooked and excluded from choices because you are not physically present. To address this, businesses should strive to create equal opportunities for both hybrid and non-hybrid staff. It is critical that all employees feel valued at work, and it is equally critical to provide opportunities for advancement and recognition regardless of where they work.

• Schedule conversations so remote colleagues can take part, or share written updates with everyone.
• Offer remote access to training and development, and recognize contributions across locations.
• Agree work objectives and assess work quality rather than physical visibility.

See UK Acas guidance on fair treatment and managing performance.

According to O.C. Tanner's 2023 Global Culture Report, 41% of UK employees disagree that hybrid work has made it more difficult to build a workplace community while 36% do. According to the report, there is a split between those who believe remote and hybrid working has improved or not changed their organization's culture, with 37% believing it is now better and 43% believing it has remained the same. Trust concerns persist between remote workers and their managers, and remote workers lack trust in leadership, revealing a significant barrier to fostering a workplace community. Organizations must foster togetherness to become a thriving center of creativity, such as building a caring and collaborative leadership team and cultivating a culture of appreciation.

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Key Learnings:

• Building virtual relationships, setting hybrid work norms, and effective communication and collaboration are all required for hybrid working models to succeed.
• Teams should remain connected regardless of where they work.
• Choose a practice to try, then review it against the team's needs and results.