What is Hybrid Work & Why Employees Love it

The COVID-19 epidemic turned the traditional office-work model on its head, prompting businesses across the globe to embrace remote work. Workers’ attitudes are changing as they grasp the advantages of working from home. In fact, research shows that the pandemic has had such an effect on employees’ priorities that they would forgo a 10% pay rise in favour of retaining the option to work remotely.

Hybrid work is now a significant deviation from the traditional employment model, and it comes in a variety of forms. It’s difficult to define hybrid work because everyone’s hybrid configuration is distinct, and it can change week to week. Some organisations enable employees to return to the office on an ad-hoc basis, or there may be hybrid work schedules where employees are required to go into the office on specific days. Hybrid work bridges the gap between remote and office workspaces to still allow for employees to collaborate.

However, many people are not eager to return to the long, difficult daily commuting after having extended periods of working from home and demonstrating that they can be just as effective outside the workplace as they are in it. Instead, they want to lock in the benefits of the hybrid approach in terms of work-life balance and enhanced flexibility, while still being able to collaborate with colleagues face-to-face.

The Value of Hybrid Work for Employees

Employees liked their work-from-home experience for its capacity to support focused work, increase well-being and work-life balance, and empower them with the flexibility to manage their day independently.

Better work-life balance

Employees are drawn to the hybrid work style because of its flexibility. In a flexible work arrangement, finding balance is easy. Employees who have more control over their work schedules have more time to do the things that come up in their personal life, such as running errands or picking up children from school.

Being productive during productive hours

In an office setup, employees are expected to be on time and work until 5 pm every workday. However, everyone’s body clock is different and some people prefer to work early in the morning, when they are more alert, while others prefer to work later in the evening. The hybrid arrangement allows people to choose when it is best to be on-site to work with colleagues on specific projects or when they can work from home to complete their own work.

Reduce illness contact exposure

People are still concerned about their health and safety when it comes to returning to work while COVID-19 continues to linger. When there are fewer people in the office, the chances of a sick person infecting others are lower. When staff are working on different hybrid schedules, desks can spaced apart to ensure the office is not croweded. Furthermore, hybrid work models are convenient for anyone who has symptoms or has been in close contact with someone infected with COVID-19 and they can work from home until they are given the all clear.

The Value of Hybrid Work for Businesses

It is not just the employees who derive value from hybrid work models. There are advantages for companies too.

Save on operating expenses

In a hybrid work environment, there are fewer personnel on-site at any given moment. Some businesses may find that they no longer need to hold on to all of their high-cost real estate investments. Once you establish how much office space you actually require, you can rethink your office space to cut back on rental and parking space as well as other amenities that are usually offered to full-time employees.

Global talent pool

If your staff can work from anywhere, it gives you the opportunity to hire talent from anywhere in the world. If you have access to a bigger talent pool, you can hire people with specific skills and abilities and you are not bounded to finding candidates in a geographic area. This can provide your company a competitive advantage, allow you to expand into new markets, and assure continuous production.

Technology that supports Hybrid Work

Companies need processes and technology to implement a hybrid work paradigm. The hybrid approach was once thought to be a different way of working but it is becoming increasingly widespread. Companies need to understand and meet the requirements of their employees or risk losing valuable people to competitors that do.

KRIS Document Management System (DMS) can help you build the infrastructure that supports flexible work. Whether your staff are working on-site or remotely, they can access a secure central repository where records can be imported, uploaded, or created from new. Collaboration is supported by sharing files using secure links while monitoring activity on every document for audit trail reporting. These and many other features can ensure the best security and accessibility regardless of location.