With the government’s decision to implement Plan B, a full-scale return to the office appears a distant prospect; clearly, hybrid is here to stay. Here’s a look at how some companies are making it work in practice, and our views on some of the challenges ahead.
By Amy Butterworth, Consultancy Director, Timewise
The government’s decision in early December to implement Plan B sees employees once again being asked to work from home where possible. Even before the arrival of the Omicron variant, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Jonathan Van Tam had stated that we might not experience workplace normality until spring 2022. With the new variant in play, this is likely to be delayed further.
So, hybrid working is here to stay, but how is it working in practice? Here we explore some of the positive initiatives which are happening on the ground, as well as the challenges that lie ahead.
From traditional 9-5 offices to innovative start-ups, everyone has been on a steep learning curve about hybrid working. As a result, we’re talking more openly about working patterns, wellbeing in the workplace and flexible opportunities, all of which can be supported by hybrid working.
And while the government’s proposed Flex from Day one legislation leaves the onus on the employee rather than the employer to suggest flexible working conditions, it’s certainly a step in the right direction.
The humble lanyard has been a surprise hit in helping establish safe, flexible working. Some businesses, including our client Michelmores LLP have introduced a traffic light lanyard system to reflect the amount of contact employees feel comfortable in allowing. Wearing a red lanyard means, ‘Hi! I’m keeping my distance’, amber says, ‘Okay with talking but not touching’, while green indicates, ‘Okay with hugs and high fives’.
Similarly, the Department of Health and Social Care has provided downloadable badges saying, ‘Please give me space. Be kind. Thank you for understanding’, for those concerned about social distancing.
Feeling like part of a team is hugely important for achieving shared goals and boosting morale, but it’s hard to build those essential bonds on a screen. At the same time, some tasks require a level of focus that’s hard to achieve in the office. Hybrid working has freed up office-based employees to match the work to the location, working from home on deep-dive projects and coming in for connection and collaboration.
The gradual return to the office has given everyone more time to prepare for a hybrid working reality. Companies have been able to set up desk-booking systems to manage office availability, discover whether Zoom, Skype or Slack works best for their employees and adjust to the complications of managing teams in differing locations.
Of course, as well as the positives that are coming out of hybrid working, there’s no question that it is raising some unexpected challenges. When the pandemic started there was a great deal of goodwill between employers and employees. Now, as temporary measures become more permanent, there are many questions to face and answers to discover.
While knowledge workers such as accountants and lawyers can work productively from home, 46% of UK employees still don’t have access to flexible working according to CIPD research. Workers in areas like retail and construction often need to be physically present in their place of work; most office workers at BT, for example, will be able to work from home one or two days a week, but that flexibility won’t apply to the company’s engineers.
It’s a common dilemma for managers and, as we’ve noted previously, the risk is that a two-tier system could develop where location workers lose out in terms of pay, benefits and lifestyle.
Bank of England policymaker Catherine Mann has warned of a she-cession, with female employees becoming less visible and influential in the workplace because they opt to work from home. But loss of influence while working from home is also a risk for people with health issues, those in caring roles, introverts who thrive in quieter environments and indeed anyone who desires a better balance for their work and home lives.
Getting hybrid right means creating an inclusive culture and practices which takes all these groups into account.
Remote and hybrid patterns mean we need to consider how we are judging employee contributions and performance. Not being able to share an office means that you may not be aware of all their interactions with colleagues and clients. And how can other staff members give feedback for a 360° evaluation if they only see their co-worker during the occasional Zoom meeting?
Similarly, it’s important to consider whether employee objectives are focused on outputs or are subject to hybrid bias. And to review your own approach to evaluating performance; is it overly based on visibility rather than delivery?
Remote working has made it possible for people to compete for high pay, high prestige jobs in cities without having to live there or even commute, so how can suburban and rural companies compete? What unique benefit or EVP (employee value proposition) could be offered? What should happen to London weighting allowances? How should HR departments calculate market rate salaries?
These are tricky issues – but they cannot be ignored, because hybrid working is here to stay. Employers who want to attract and retain the brightest talent need to take action to ensure a motivated, successful team for the long term.
Published December 2021
