5 key ingredients for happy hybrid work
How to make hybrid work, work for you and your team.
Hybrid work comes in various shapes and sizes. What’s right for one role may not be quite right for another – but that’s the beauty of it. At its best, hybrid work is flexible and can be adapted to suit different organisations, teams, and roles.
Whether you’re in a hybrid role yourself or work with hybrid teams, here are some key ingredients to make it successful for all involved.
1. Focus on outputs
When people are working from different locations and at different times, it’s important to trust each other to do great work. Instead of monitoring each other’s daily tasks, shift the focus to outcomes. Are projects completed on time, and to a good standard? This is more important than everyone being online at the same time.
2. Practise good meeting etiquette
Make sure you’re involving remote workers in meetings by practising good meeting etiquette.
Use technology that allows each person to be seen and heard by everyone, whether they are in the room or working remotely.
Be fully present and look at the screen while people are talking (avoid texting, typing, and completing other tasks).
Include remote workers in post-meeting interactions. Relevant conversations often occur organically after meetings, and you want remote workers to still feel included. A way to do this could be picking up the phone to ask them how they felt about a decision, or how they thought the meeting went overall.
3. Use virtual tools to improve fun and connection
Another thing that remote/hybrid workers may miss out on is team bonding and informal catch-ups that happen naturally in an office setting. So look for opportunities to recreate this sense of teamwork and closeness online. For example, a designated place within your group chat for ‘water-cooler’ conversations. Or organise some virtual social club activities.
4. Maintain regular communication
Regular communication helps to build trust and allows for everyone to quickly identify what’s working well and what could be improved.
Some communication ideas for a hybrid setting include:
Daily 15-minute meetings at the beginning or end of each day
Regular email communication
Using a tool like Slack or Teams for instant messaging and calling
Summarising key decisions in one central place, like your staff intranet
Whatever channel you prefer, keep communication open and frequent, and remember there’s no such thing as a stupid question.
5. Prioritise self-care
Digital exhaustion is super common in hybrid work environments. Even those in an office may find themselves spending lots of time in virtual meeting rooms. Make sure to prioritise self-care by taking regular screen breaks and avoiding excessive sitting. If you work from home, set clear boundaries between work and home life to avoid burnout.