The onset of the recent pandemic has opened many eyes to the prospects of working outside of the office. Many organizations and their employees have found work from home to be a viable, refreshing change of pace. For some companies, however, a total switch to work from home isn’t an option. In these instances, the hybrid work model may be the solution.
What are the Advantages of the Hybrid Work Model?
In a nutshell, the hybrid work model allows employees to work both in and out of the office during a typical workday, utilizing a hybrid work schedule. When not in the office, employees might choose to work at home, at the coffee shop, in a think tank with coworkers, or even at a satellite office or neighbouring branch.
This model allows for a great deal of flexibility on the employee’s end while maintaining the same number of work hours and productivity that the company would see from their typical schedule. While keeping employees happy is certainly huge merit, it’s not the only benefit the hybrid work model brings to the table. Reduced office costs, increased talent pool and general safety factors are advantages of this hybrid work arrangement.
When an organization requires its employees to come into the office every day, it incurs many expenses just to keep the office open and habitable. Companies need to provide employees with utilities, supplies, furniture, equipment and more. These costs stack up, especially when the office is running at full capacity for five days per week.
Allowing employees to work from home sometimes means that these operational costs are essentially paused while employees are away from the office. Experts at Forbes estimate that for every half-time remote employee, a company can save up to $11,000 per year. This means that under the hybrid work model, employees are happier because they’re not tethered to their desks, and the company is happier because it’s not spending as much money on maintenance and upkeep- it’s a win-win!
Another major benefit of the hybrid work model is hiring employees that you typically wouldn’t have access to otherwise. For instance, some individuals might experience mitigating factors such as distance, lack of transportation or schedule incompatibility. These issues might prevent an otherwise stellar employee from applying to a typical five day a week position.
The hybrid work model affords more flexibility in these situations- there is the potential for employees to come into the office for a few days a week or come into the office daily during a time that better fits their personal schedule. In this case, the logistics of working in the office are no longer as big of an obstacle as they may have previously been.
Experts assert that companies that offer the hybrid work model as a regular option will likely increase the number of qualified candidates they see when recruiting for an open position. It’s also likely that they will see candidates from outside the typical geographical range that would be expected if they were implementing an office-only workday.
Lastly, a third major advantage to the hybrid work model is that while the pandemic continues to gruel on, keeping employees out of the office reduces their exposure to certain health risks and illnesses. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that bugs, colds and sniffles can all spread like wildfire throughout a workplace. Close quarters and face-to-face meetings do little to quell the transmission of airborne illnesses, and keyboards, phones and office supplies are all known to harbour bacteria if not properly sanitized.
Allowing workers to work from home makes it less likely that an individual will feel obligated to come into the office if they’re sick. This also means that employees are less likely to be exposed to contagious coworkers even if they appear asymptomatic. Fewer people in the office means high-touch surfaces are handled less frequently, and there is a reduced spread of germs. This benefit of the hybrid work model is particularly apt as we continue to battle back the lingering effects of the pandemic.
Overall, the hybrid work model is a great option for organizations to break out of the traditional workday mould. It’s not quite as extreme as shifting entirely to a work from a home model, but it still affords employees and employers alike a greater degree of freedom and control over their work. From reducing maintenance expenditures to keeping employees happy and healthy, any company that wants to modernize its workday while maintaining peak productivity could benefit from implementing the hybrid work model.