Flexible vs Hybrid Work: What they mean and why it matters
Colin Ellis
Culture Consultant, Award-Winning Author and Keynote Speaker, Podcaster
Where we work - or how we structure the working week - is back in the news. Four years after the pandemic, organisations are still feeling their way around flexible and hybrid work arrangements.
From return to the office orders for public servants, to Tabcorp and Amazon calling time on hybrid , the media coverage of this modern management dilemma shows no signs of abating.?
It’s not hard to find compelling reasons for a return to the office or the case for this ‘great social experiment’ of working from home , to be allowed to run its course. Yet, without a defined culture, none of these approaches will deliver what leaders are looking for.
As a culture consultant who's seen it all, I can tell you that getting this right is crucial in maintaining not only morale, but also a sense of belonging that's required to deliver successful results for your organisation. But first, let's clear up the confusion between these two terms that are being bandied around.
Flexible work is all about when and how work gets done. It's giving your people the freedom to adjust their hours, compress their work week, or even job share. Hybrid work, on the other hand, is primarily focused on where work happens - a mix of in-office and remote (for those privileged enough to have the choice).
Why does this distinction matter? Because one size definitely doesn't fit all when it comes to work arrangements. Understanding the nuances is key when it comes to deliberately creating a culture (more about that shortly)? where everyone can bring their A-game and that collaboration occurs in a way that generates results.
So, what should senior leaders and managers be considering when deciding on work arrangements? Having worked with over a dozen organisations on their hybrid/flexible cultures, here is my take:
In this tight labour market, high potential people have options. If they feel their needs aren't being met, they'll walk - straight into the arms of your competitors who are offering greater flexibility. On the flip side, if you want to make the move back to people being? full-time in the office, then this could help you as you look to hire people who are looking to do just that.
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So, how can organisations strike a balance between culture and individual needs?
Here are some strategies I've collaborated on, all of which have worked for those that employed them:
But here's the rub. No matter which approach you choose to take, its success or failure will depend on the culture that you choose to build . The organisations that have thrived during and post-COVID are those that recognised that the way teams work had changed and therefore the culture had to be redefined.
If you're such a company that doesn't want to return to the old ways of working, but are facing pressure to increase productivity to pre-pandemic levels, then the simple answer is to redefine what it means to belong and deliver in this new way of working.
All the policies and statements that you may make about flexible or hybrid work are useless unless you bring people together to talk about how they'll bring it to life.
At the end of the day, it's about creating a culture where your people can do their best work, wherever and whenever that may be. Get that right, and you'll have a workforce that's not just productive, but truly engaged and committed to your organisation's success.
The Project Alchemist - Optimized Project Management For Entrepreneurs
1 个月For me, to trust your people is very important. I find, that in projects, where the manager tries to control everything, the quality of the work fades. People are leaning back in a spirit of I can't do it right anyway, or the boss will check my stuff anyway. As the boss in these scenarios is often overworked, he lets more errors slip through than would happen, if the people were doing their best work.
Senior Talent Acquisition Leader @ CommScope | Talent Partner | Relationship Builder | Team Builder | Talent Champion |
1 个月Defining flexible and hybrid work is crucial. More people are seeking flexibility to work the hours that best suit them and their company.