Why hybrid work is not as flexible as it seems – 7/8/2023 – Market

As they move forward with plans to go back to the office, many companies are opting for hybrid configurations — a workweek split between the employee’s office and home, including some fixed days of face-to-face work, usually following the standard 9am to 9pm hours. 5 pm.

These schemes are often presented as being fluid and agile — a middle ground that gives professionals much of the control and autonomy they have come to expect in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

But the very rigid nature of the top-down, top-down office hours schedule may not provide employees with the advertised flexibility.

“Often it’s about giving employees a hybrid schedule of where they’re supposed to do their work, without any flexibility,” says Tim Oldman, founder and CEO of Leesman, a London-based research firm specializing in work experience.

“It’s putting them in fixed patterns that may not be the best to help your work.”

For some professionals, this reality is not just inconvenient or frustrating. Reduced flexibility disproportionately affects some employees more than others—particularly those with special needs and those with care responsibilities.

“Fixed hybrid policies often don’t consider the return-to-office challenges faced by employees with different workplace backgrounds,” says Oldman.

IS FLEXIBILITY NOT NEGOTIABLE?

Hybrid schemes can vary, but the most common are for a balance between three days in the office and two remote days a week, or vice versa.

Often, days in the office are fixed—rather than punctually selected—in order to consistently bring teams together or allow for scheduled collaboration and face-to-face meetings.

In theory, these arrangements are a reasonable compromise both for employers, who want their employees back in the office, and for employees, who can retain some of the remote work and its attendant flexibility.

Professionals continue to value their autonomy. In May 2023, a survey of 2,105 American professionals by the market research firm The Harris Poll concluded that 69% of professionals who work or have worked remotely believe that the independence resulting from remote work is more important than the benefits face-to-face professionals.

They also report that the flexibility of remote work means they are able to speak more freely (74%) and are more satisfied with their own work (72%).

In fact, the fixed hybrid work schedule benefits many professionals. Data from The Harris Poll showed that 45% of them prefer a set schedule.

“There will always be a group of people who prefer certainty, knowing where they are going to be every day”, says Matthew Davis, professor at the School of Business at the University of Leeds, UK.

For this portion of professionals, the fixed hybrid pattern provides flexibility and structure. It allows you to work from home and schedule your remote days, also enjoying the benefits of face-to-face work, such as socialization and collaboration.

But this delimitation is actually inherently quite rigid. These are strict requirements about which days must be face-to-face – and the hours of work on those days.

“People tend to respond very well to feeling that they have choice and control over their lives in general,” notes Davis.

“For most people, the fixed schedule is their least preferred hybrid working option. Generally, the less control people have, the worse their results are.”

It’s important to note that rigid office hours particularly hurt certain professionals, according to experts.

“Those who prefer to work more flexibly may have family care responsibilities — disproportionately so, women,” said Brent Cassell, vice president and consultant in human resources practice at Gartner, a Virginia-based consulting firm. United.

In addition to parents and caregivers, neurodivergent or special needs professionals may also prefer the flexibility of working from home.

“People with physical or cognitive difficulties are less likely to want to commute to work when everything is organized for them at home,” explains Oldman.

And this can be a great group of professionals. “In our survey, 15% to 18% of professionals declare having some type of disability that impacts them at work”, he says.

Experts fear that the mandatory hybrid schedule deprives some professionals of the flexibility and autonomy they need to develop.

“There’s a lot of talk about diversity, equality and inclusion — understanding the diversity of employees, recognizing talent, and providing solutions for those employees,” says Oldman.

“With the hybrid fixed schedule, we run the risk of going backwards in terms of awareness and meeting the distinct needs of certain workers.”

THE ROUTE OF THE PROFESSIONALS

Professionals trapped in inflexible hybrid work schemes have an obvious option: look for another job that better accommodates their needs.

“Employees who spend more time in the office than they’d like are more likely to look for another job,” says Davis.

“It’s like your salary isn’t good — you look for another employer who can meet your expectations.”

But with companies embracing fixed-hybrid models in a competitive job market, not all professionals will land jobs that provide the flexibility they’re looking for.

“Even the companies that were more flexible and adopted a free hybrid model, in which professionals decided where, when and how to work, now they established a bigger structure”, says Davis.

“There are tensions between individual choices and the ability of teams to coordinate to get the job done together.”

Still, Davis believes many bosses understand that mandatory days at the office don’t suit everyone—and that even a seemingly rigid hybrid structure can have room for flexibility.

“Companies are still testing and learning their hybrid working models,” he explains.

“While structures have been created to make the important face-to-face days worthwhile, many employers are likely to still allow individual freedom and exceptions. The fixed hybrid schedule actually can be more flexible.”

In these emerging settings, Oldman says employers and employees can negotiate a more balanced version of hybrid work, combining the best of collective face-to-face work with individual flexibility. But the onus is on the employer.

“Any boss needs to make decisions in the general interest of the majority and for the purpose of the organization. And most professionals will accept that some rules are necessary,” explains Oldman.

“But employers can do more to understand the true spectrum of inclusion — and offer agile, flexible solutions for employees within a framework that serves both parties.”

For Davis, these professionals can also reorganize their work with their immediate superiors, defining greater autonomy, with different entry times or choosing where to sit in the office.

“There could be conversations about deciding to work in a quieter part of the office, adopting flexible hours, or how to get work done,” he says.

“At the very least, it gives employees choice, allowing them to restructure their work for greater flexibility.”

But many professionals may never get the full flexibility they’ve enjoyed working from home while following fixed hybrid schedules. The truth is, unless they can find a role that offers the autonomy they want, they’re going to need to serve their employer somewhere between the two extremes.

“In the modern world, spaces designed for living often better support intellectual professionals than spaces designed for work,” says Oldman.

“The bottom line is that almost everyone loses out with fixed and mandated hybrid schedules. In fact, employers should be almost as flexible as employees.”