The world of work has always been one of constant flux. Societal and technological changes having an impact on how and where work gets done is nothing new.
Currently, ‘hybrid’ working is rapidly becoming the arrangement of choice in the UK, and everyone is adapting in their own way. Many organisations have progressed from the fully-remote arrangement temporarily enforced by the pandemic, choosing to combine that remote working with some time also spent in the traditional office environment.
This is by no means a top-down or unrequited shift: despite 68% of UK workers never having worked from home before the pandemic, 85% of those that started to wanted to continue it in a long-term ‘hybrid’ arrangement. See our infographic and previous blog for more.
On paper then, this should be a postive change. It is both something that workers – on the whole – want and should be bringing about a) the flexibility and distraction-free focus of the remote environment, and b) the ease of collaboration and relationship building of a physical environment.
For many individuals, these complementary benefits might ring true but, according to some recent research, it could be the case that, in practice, hybrid working is more emotionally draining than the other two full-time options…
Although a small sample size of 100 employees, Tinypulse (a workforce engagement platform provider) found that 72% reported exhaustion from hybrid working – double that of fully remote workers and, significantly, more than full-time office staff.
Occupational psychologists contacted by the BBC reflected on these statistics, and suggested a number of possible explanations for these results, including:
- Two distinct offices to ‘maintain’
- Difficulty settling into routines
- More workflow planning required
- Lack of schedule consistency
- Unpredictable levels of control over your time
- Rushed hybrid policies, created without consultation
It’s important to be mindful that hybrid working policies are new for the majority of workplaces, so some of this reported exhaustion could be expected until procedures and processes become ingrained and second nature, and policies can be reviewed in light of feedback.
Similarly, much of the uncertainty, anxiety and emotional drain brought about by the pandemic still abounds.
As with many workplace challenges, particularly ones that result from change, it is vital to ensure that your workforce can call on the skills and knowledge they need to overcome them. As well as skills support to help with some of the factors listed above – such as Time Management and Personal Productivity – Eliesha also offers engaging virtual workshops based around the novel hybrid and remote working environments:
‘Hybrid’ Working – Virtual Workshops
We have developed two learning workshops in support of hybrid working knowledge and skills:
Managing a Hybrid Team:
By the end of this session, you will be better able to:
- Understand the impact of the hybrid environment on team performance and staff engagement and ways to derive maximum benefit from hybrid working
- Adapt your leadership styles to meet individual and team needs
- & more…
Working Effectively in a Hybrid Team:
By the end of this session, you will be better able to:
- Understand the impact of the hybrid environment on the team and its work
- Proactively take responsibility for your performance through goal setting and seeking out development opportunities
- & more…
We have also developed and delivered the following topics, which would make valuable additions to a programme of supportive learning:
- Remote Team Building
- Sustaining Performance of Remote Teams
- One-to-Ones & Coaching for Remote Workers
- Motivating Self & Setting Goals
For further details or full course outlines click here to email us now.
