Why the hybrid model works the best for us: an interview with Ioana Gheorghe, People & Culture Manager, Bright Spaces
We've just moved to a new office, in the One Tower building - which you can virtually tour here with Bright Spaces: https://office.one.ro/project/one-tower.
There are a lot of debates on what the future of work will look like. Our People & Culture Manager, Ioana Gheorghe, talks about why the hybrid model works the best for us and what role the office plays for our team:
The 2020 lockdown revealed for many of us that our way of working can be improved. We discovered the flexibility of working from home, the time we won by avoiding traffic, the productivity of the moments when we are not disturbed. It also showed the less brighter part of working from home: being disconnected from our team and the energy of the office, zoom fatigue, and the absence of rituals that are preparing us for work- like walking to the office.
In some cases, people felt totally incompatible with this new type of work, while others actually discovered that this was the best approach for them.
One size doesn't fit all and we think that letting every member of the team choose for themselves is the fairest approach. We have an autonomous team, our colleagues know better how and when they are productive and that's why it’s important for us to let them decide how they can bring more value in their work and to Bright Spaces. This results in half of our team spending half of the week at the office and half at home, ? being always in the office and ? being always remote.?
This type of hybrid work brings new challenges and with the main one being: How do we make sure that everyone feels included and that they have the same information and opportunities?
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When most of the world was working remotely, it was easier for everyone to have the same level of visibility and to communicate in a very similar way. Seems like the answer here is constantly changing & updating, we don’t have the perfect recipe and we are still working in it.
We count on our colleagues to notice when something is not inclusive and when we need to reorganize our way of working. Being in touch with the team’s needs helps us avoid too many procedures.?
Despite the challenges, we chose the hybrid work because we are confident that working together, as a team, we can always find the most suitable model for us.?
When I ask my colleagues what keeps them happy at Bright Spaces, “our team” is a part of everyone's answer. Having a place where we can meet, have fun and learn together is a must-have for keeping this happiness alive.?
We have an office big enough for half of the team, we don’t have assigned desks, and it is big enough for our day-to-day life without being a waste of space. Our office still remains the place to meet our colleagues, celebrate, have brainstorming sessions and analysis on what happened, have work sessions, and approach our challenges. Those meetings can be online, of course, and most of the time they are. But sometimes working shoulder-to-shoulder helps you realize you are part of the team; facing challenges and having fun together builds a connection much harder to obtain online and this is part of our fuel.?
Part of our team is now working from One United Properties SA's office building, One Tower, which you can explore virtually on https://office.one.ro/project/one-tower