From fake beach backgrounds to the real deal: Reimagining hybrid work

One of the downsides of technology combined with some organizational cultures, leadership styles and/or own personal habits, is how common it is for people to end up working when they are on vacation: attending meetings, answering phone calls, emails, and not really fully disconnecting.?

I have always been an advocate of finding ways to truly enjoy vacation (through collaboration, delegation, empowerment, planning, clearly communicating your Out of Office status, humility -the world will not fall apart if you are not around-, and just avoiding the vice of constantly checking and answering emails...) With this new world I'm starting to ask myself: can the opposite be true?

Can we leave our usual workplace -without taking vacation days- to visit relatives, go outside the city, travel, and at the same time continue fully connected, engaged and accountable for our labor responsibilities? This week, I started my own experiment coming to a countryside house my parents in-law have near Bogota and I can share, despite some connectivity challenges, so far so good.?

Yes, “Home Office” is not new, but the intensity and scope of remote working is shifting dramatically, as so many other aspects of our lives. This fact will shape the future of work and regain importance in the “war for talent”. The current pandemic and science fiction we are living, is testing which companies already had a culture that honestly facilitated virtual cooperation, those that had it in their policies but where it was actually not "well seen", and those that had refused to evolve.

I don't want to overlook that some industries, specific functions and roles, in manufacturing and supply chain, healthcare institutions, R&D, and many others, demand showing up in person. These employees should be highly appreciated and rewarded and, because of the same nature of their work, be able to fully rest when they take vacation. Moreover, I can imagine legislation and/or company policies shifting as well to offer alternative leave, or other creative solutions for "on-site" employees as the contrast of flexibility will increasingly become more evident.

Building a well-grounded and winning remote work culture demands a correct set of values, talent, leadership behaviors and enablers. Out of many that could be listed, 2 come top of mind to me: Trust and Wi-Fi. Trust as the ultimate soil for virtual collaboration to flourish, and Wi-Fi (arguably sad, but true) as the oxygen and prerequisite to survive.

There are of course other discussions around remote working that are not the subject of this article: how it sparks or not collaboration, creativity and innovation; how it impacts engagement; how it will change the design of offices and the potential cost savings behind an enhanced virtual work environment; how it reduces company excuses to hire people with disabilities... plus other countless practical and philosophical debates.

All in all, while I write this enjoying a beautiful countryside view (in the middle of any given paid Wednesday), I can only hope the evolution of how we understand the workplace and vacation in the future will lead us to find a new work-life balance. One that will allow those of us with a curious and nomadic vocation to be able to navigate working between a traditional office, a home office, and a -you name it- office.

Oxford Languages defines vacation as "an extended period of leisure and recreation, especially one spent away from home or in traveling". Although I still want to go to an office every now and then, have in person interactions, and enjoy my annual 15 days or so of pure and full disconnection (don't get me wrong on this!) I'm excited to re-write the definition of vacation and have more opportunities to travel, share with my family and loved ones, visit new places, and take advantage of the new world while simultaneously delivering results.

I still remember conversations not so long ago with managers that were afraid of "casual Fridays", as they thought employees in jeans would be less productive. Fortunately, those fears are on their way to extinction. I think this debate will follow a similar fate. These past months, I have overused the beach background feature in Teams. I'm looking forward to the world reopening and occasionally having a real paradise background -with solid Wi-Fi- being trusted that I will be equally or more productive. I also commit myself to feel a positive envy when it be others in the call enjoying this possibility.

What kind of leader are you? Will you be the "afraid of jeans on Fridays manager" and passively or actively reject when someone in your team connects close to a pool or a casual real background? Or will you feel comfortable and even celebrate it?