(adjective) Splitting our work weeks between different places: homes, offices or even the beach
In the Before Times, “hybrid” described cars driven by people saving up for a Tesla. Not any more. In 2021, hybrid became a fixture of workplace jargon. How long it stays there will depend on two things: the trajectory of coronavirus and the attitudes of employers.
In 2020, most so-called knowledge workers had shifted to homeworking, an uneasy arrangement that generated early-pandemic argot (“WFH”, “Zoom fatigue”, “you’re on mute”). By mid-2021, there was a tentative return to offices in many parts of the globe.
But few people wanted to return to commuting every day. The compromise was hybrid work, which allows weeks to be split between the traditional office and the home, where new routines have been built around childcare, pandemic puppies and Pelotons.
Employers laid on perks to get workers back at their desks, even part-time. Think barbecues, cocktail making — and cash. Some start-ups also moved teams into Airbnbs for a stay in a cool resort or city. That’s hybrid work all right, but being with colleagues 24/7 might not be for everyone. Or anyone.
What’s valuable about most hybrid work is that it offers more choice and agency. Its flexibility gives some of the most pandemic-affected people in the workforce — that would be parents and carers — more chance to build a lasting work/life balance for their families.
Hybrid work also forces leaders to trust that the teams they no longer see in the office every day are productive and engaged — and adopt new management styles to accommodate that changed reality. At a time when people are quitting their jobs in record numbers, smart employers will take note — and hang on to some elements of hybrid practices when the pandemic recedes.
Year in a word: Hybrid
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