Choice overload: How to ease the mental load of hybrid work practices

"There is more than one kind of freedom, said Aunt Lydia. Freedom to and freedom from."

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid's Tale, 1985

While we're not suggesting that the contemporary world of work is a dystopian future, it’s interesting to think about the dichotomy of freedom and choice this quote evokes in relation to workplace policies. ?As explored in previous newsletters, freedom from choice, particularly around where we can work, can be detrimental to employee engagement and effectiveness. ?But can hybrid policies provide too much choice and expect too much conscious decision-making around whether to work from home or in the office? ?And how can we help ease the load?

What is choice overload?

Choice overload, or overchoice, is when we feel overwhelmed by the number of available options and find it hard to decide. It can hinder our ability to make good choices and ultimately impact our satisfaction with the final decision.

This phenomenon is more likely to occur when we lack knowledge in a certain area. ?As we become more familiar with a subject, the effects of choice overload decrease. For example, a wine connoisseur won't have trouble choosing a wine for a particular occasion when presented with many options. But, even if you're not an expert on biscuits, you're likely familiar enough to navigate the multitude of options in the store.

The impact of choice overload in the workplace

Over the years, I’ve heard employees and managers struggling with new workplace practices say things like, "I waste time working out where to work each day" or "I spend most of my time thinking about how the workplace needs to work and not enough on my core responsibilities."

Flexible working environments and policies place invisible mental demands on end-users that are often downplayed or overlooked.

When deciding where to work, employees are faced with many questions - What do I need to achieve today? Will I be more productive working alone or collaboratively? What physical or digital resources do I need? Will those be readily available at home or the office? These decisions are also intertwined with the teams' and organisational needs.

But like in the wider world, different capabilities exist across an organisation, and some people are more comfortable navigating the options than others. Some have been working this way for a lot longer, while having more options than the office or a desk can be overwhelming for many.

How to ease the mental load of hybrid

There are things we can do to make the choices more manageable for people, whether they're deciding what location to work from or, when in the office, which space may be best.

Keep it simple

One of the most obvious ways is to reduce and simplify options.? However, in a workplace context, reduced options are likely to mean someone's needs aren't met (which is not great for diversity), and the benefits of perceived choice and flexibility highlighted by Leesman may get missed.

Two things can help:

• Keep options distinct. ?People need to be able to identify the options and understand the differences easily. ?When it comes to choosing a location, being clear as a team about what choices are available and when they add value reduces option anxiety. The same can be said for different space types in the office. Do you have three types of focus desks? ?It may add to choice overload if it's unclear how they differ. ?It needs to be visually obvious how they're different and how they'll help people focus in different ways.

• Group options into categories. People can deal with categories more easily than individual options as long as the categories make sense. ?For example, if an organisation has 20 unique space types, all presented separately, that can feel overwhelming. ?But grouping spaces into different but useful categories (like focus, collaboration, socialisation, and learning) helps people more easily consider the options.

Encourage experimentation to form favourites

Imagine your wardrobe - you probably have a few key go-to combinations for different occasions and some special pieces reserved for those extra-special moments. ?Now, apply this concept to the workplace. ?Just like you have your favourite outfit combinations, it helps to have favourite space combinations for focus, creativity, connection, reflection, or teamwork. It's about finding what works best for an individual based on what they’re doing, personal preferences, mood, and energy levels. ?Encourage experimentation with different places and spaces; eventually, people will narrow their choices to what truly works for them.

Final thoughts

Sometimes, the invisible mental load that goes along with workplace policies gets forgotten. ?As workplace professionals, we see hybrid policies as an opportunity for people to have more freedom and autonomy. ?By overly focusing on the "freedom to", we sometimes misjudge the delicate balance of providing "freedom from" too many daily and iterative choices. ?We can help people become more comfortable making these choices over time by keeping options simple and clear to understand, grouping them when it makes sense, and encouraging experimentation at first so they can develop favourite options that meet their specific needs.