What Is Hybrid Remote Work?

Hybrid remote work is when an employee splits their working days between the office and another location, mainly their home. In a traditional Monday-Friday job, that could be a ratio of 3:2, 1:4 etc, remote to office days, split either way.

Introduction

Now we’ve got the official definition out of the way, let’s dive into the dynamics.

Did you know:

83% of the global workforce considers hybrid work ideal.

(Notta)

Benefits Of A Hybrid Remote Work Model

Workers enjoy a number of benefits from working remote. Amongst the most popular are:

Flexible Schedule

Being out of the office, people tend to find they have more time to manage child care, do the school run, run errands, complete household tasks etc.

This in turn leads to a better sense of well-being and work-life balance. Who wants to spend all of Saturday doing the laundry!?

No Commute

Being a Londiner, my commute can be seriously grim sometimes. To boot the price to get in adds insult to injury. Again, this most probably relates back to people’s happiness and wellness. No one likes being wedged on a delayed train next to a smelly armpit.

Remote workers save an average of 72 minutes daily from commuting, that’s 6 hours a week.

 (Notta)

Saving Money

No commute, no overpriced lunch in the center of town

From a financial standpoint, remote work makes a lot of sense

What about the days when you do go into the office? It’s not all smelly armpits and overpriced sandwiches, right!?

In Person Interaction And Comms

There is definitely value in being able to be face to face with colleagues to discuss work and collaborate.

The speed at which decisions are made face to face can be markedly quicker and an in person impromptu conversation is much easier than having to look at calendars, set up Zooms etc

Getting Outside

I talk quite a lot about the need to get outside for fresh air when working from home.

I’m a big advocate of making time to do so as it helps freshen up your perspective, inspire creativity, and most importantly, it’s great for my mental health.

Got to go into the office? Well ya gotta get outside!

Sense Of Belonging/Company Culture 

I think if I was fully remote, at home, I might get a bit of cabin fever. By the time my office day comes around I look forward to socialising with the team and catching up. For my overall wellbeing, it always feels good to connect.

Everyone’s different though, some people want more social interaction some less.

Check out these blogs on introverts working from home and extroverts working from home for a bit more insight.

Conclusion

The Hybrid remote work model is still in its infancy for a lot of people and businesses.

There’s a general consensus on what works best for most (around a 3:2 split home to office), but there isn’t and never will be a one size fits all hybrid model for everyone. 

Employees should be aware of and up to date on their company’s hybrid work policy and the amount of flexibility available to cater to their individual needs.

Employers should also be vigilant of the rapidly changing, post Covid work dynamics and adapt to appease existing staff and attract new talent. 

For more remote work stats check out 11 Remote Work Trend Statistics 📈