Are you already stuck in bad habits in your new hybrid workplace?

OK, so you’re back in the office. But are you spending 8 hours a day there in virtual meetings? Then it’s time to ask whether you’ve chosen the right hybrid strategy.

To design for real hybrid work, companies should analyse their tasks and meeting types and make sure office time is much more than just virtual interaction. Let’s make the office an engaging hub for creativity and collaboration.

Since we started preaching hybrid work a year ago, coverage of the subject has certainly picked up pace. We’re very glad to be working with many companies that are taking the lessons from the Covid lockdown to heart and redesigning the workplace around flexibility and hybrid work.

We’ve missed being together in person

Many of us have been longing to get back to the office and face-to-face contact with colleagues. But we’ve talked to several people who were already exhausted by their return to the office.

“I’ve been in back-to-back virtual meetings today, so I haven’t even had time to get a cup of coffee.”

That’s what one of our clients told us recently. If you’ve heard something similar in your organisation, it should be a big flashing warning light that it’s time to adjust your approach.

Here are some of our thoughts:

1. Virtual first, where you ask everyone to join meetings virtually, shouldn’t be a strategy. It should only be a short-term fix until you have proper hybrid meeting room facilities in place. Employees who put in the commute in order to spend time together at the office also want the chance to sit together in the same room. Digital first, on the other hand, is a really good principle. Pointing the camera at the whiteboard doesn’t work for the people joining from elsewhere. Use a digital whiteboard or similar meeting tools that work for everyone. The technology has come a long way recently. Hybrid work isn’t a cost-cutting exercise! Invest in real hybrid meeting rooms with good sound, high-quality microphones, digital whiteboards and a room layout that includes the people joining from elsewhere. You’ll certainly get a return on the investment, in both productivity and employee satisfaction.
2. Get rid of back-to-back meetings. Seriously! I wish I’d done this back when I started as a leader in hybrid settings. It’s the biggest mental drain, and there’s evidence to back it up. Recent research from the Microsoft Human Factors Lab shows that the brain reacts radically differently to meetings back to back than to meetings with proper breaks in between. In the study, Microsoft measured beta waves, the ones associated with stress, and found that they kept building up during back-to-back meetings, with clear improvements when participants got the chance to rest or meditate in between. The research also showed how back-to-back meetings can reduce your ability to focus and engage. Take a look here for more: Research proves your brain needs breaks (microsoft.com)
3. Design for real hybrid work, and speed up the transition by training your people. Well-run hybrid workplaces don’t come from simply setting a “2 days working from home a week” policy. Leaders should be trained in hybrid leadership, and in how to become an inclusive leader. Employees need to be brought on board early, take part in the planning and be trained in hybrid collaboration. Teams should work deliberately on defining which tasks can be done from home, and which are better handled together. And let’s be honest. Eight hours of virtual meetings aren’t necessarily any better at the office than at home. If your teams have particular days when they’re expected in the office, we strongly recommend building those days around what works best in person: collaboration, relationship-building, creative work, workshops and the like.

Now is our chance!

Hybrid work gives us the chance to get the best of both worlds. We can have flexibility and focus time and still enjoy relationships built face to face. But every successful transformation comes from deliberate planning, a willingness to change, and leaders who really invest in making the transition work.

Hear more about what we offer

If you’d like to hear more about how we’ve helped other clients with hybrid work, get in touch here and we’ll get back to you quickly.