A Hybrid Workplace
Is the New Norm

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A Hybrid Workplace Is the New Norm


The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for massive changes in the American workplace. Thousands of people began considering resignations from their office jobs in 2020. Many of them now prefer to work for companies with a hybrid workplace model.

According to a Forbes report, 41% of employees and 51% of Gen Z office workers are now wondering whether they should trade their 9-to-5 jobs for a more flexible position within the gig economy, or at least an employer who offers a hybrid working arrangement.

For most people, spending money on gas, car maintenance, and rising parking fees every month is not a feasible long-term strategy, let alone moving to cities where rents continue to skyrocket as living spaces shrink.

Employers are starting to see that with their employees working at home at least one day a week, their office morale is going up, as are industry-wide job satisfaction rates. A hybrid workplace gives remote workers a slice of freedom that traditional arrangements can’t provide.


The Numbers Don’t Lie

Data from the 2021 Remote Work & Compensation Survey from Salary.com reveals that only 8% of employees who have been working from home are willing to return to their traditional office schedules. 44% of them believe that the hybrid workplace is the future of work, wishing to return to the office only one or two days per week. A whopping 48% of full-time employees in America want a permanent work-from-home arrangement.

Now that the threat of COVID-19 has become less severe thanks to widespread vaccinations, employers need to balance employee interests with business needs. The most cost-effective way to do that is with a hybrid workforce.


Why Is the Hybrid Workplace the Future of Work?

The Definition of a Hybrid Workplace

A hybrid workplace balances the needs of employees who want to work from home with the productivity requirements that only office working can provide. Many companies are beginning to provide in-office and remote work environments simultaneously.

Many professionals don’t have the option of working from their homes, such as facility managers, clerks, and server maintenance operators. You can’t fix a server failure with a Zoom meeting, but you can update databases, write scripts, and implement process improvements without going to the office. So, if you work in one of these positions, your boss may require you to go to the office only on critical and high-volume workdays.

A hybrid workplace looks different for each business, but in a nutshell, it lets some people work in the office full-time, some part-time, and some fully remote. This model is still in its infancy, but today, two mainstream types exist across various industries.

A hybrid synchronous workplace lets teams of employees conduct meetings and work together in a leased space. They can hold virtual meetings for times when some of them are out-of-office. An asynchronous hybrid model lets employees perform deep-focus jobs with differing schedules, only meeting on virtual platforms on agreed-upon time slots to maximize productivity.

The Benefits of a Hybrid Workplace Model for Employees

There is no standard model from which business owners can build their hybrid workplace environments. Implementing a hybrid workplace for the first time might involve some trial and error.

As a business owner, you might suffer some short-term productivity losses from employees not having all the tools they need to perform at their peak. However, once you iron out the kinks, a hybrid workplace can be rewarding for you as a business owner and your employees who no longer have to deal with traffic, parking, and urban pollution. Here are some of its key benefits.

Employees Enjoy More Comfortable Work Environments

Your employees will have the freedom to choose an environment that’s most conducive for their job type, like a quiet cottage in a low-cost rural town for data entry professionals or a condo in a city center for employees with clients to meet.

Higher Autonomy Translates to Higher Morale

It doesn’t take a data scientist to know that employees with a higher sense of autonomy are more productive and happier with their jobs overall. Giving your employees the option to work from a home office subliminally sends several morale-boosting messages:

  • You trust them enough to comply with company-mandated work schedules.
  • You’re counting on them to be productive and get work done under predefined deadlines without supervision.
  • You’re taking away managers that are always standing by, letting them know that you trust in their competence, discipline, and decision-making.

Better Continuous Learning Opportunities

It’s no secret that in-office training programs are expensive and inefficient, allowing employees to retain only a limited amount of information that they will forget unless they find an everyday use case for their new skills. Because of this fact, many traditional employers shift their focus to employee productivity, hampering the long-term marketability of their workforce.

Artificial intelligence and robots are taking over more and more jobs, and employees need to survive in a multi-skilled workforce to remain valuable for a company. Increased time at home will encourage your employees to reflect, learn new things, and upskill.

Company-sponsored learning opportunities won’t feel like obligations but upgrades as they hone their new skills using home computers. You can take advantage of massive open online course providers like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, and Udacity to equip your employees for future promotions or job shifts.

The Benefits of a Hybrid Workplace Model for Businesses and Shareholders

Space Savings

For businesses shifting to a hybrid workplace, multi-million-dollar leases for office spaces in overpriced urban centers are a thing of the past. If you’re a business owner, you can get by with reduced acreage by removing traditional desks and using fewer computers for fewer workers.

Reduced Infection Risks

Health experts agree that COVID-19 won’t be the last pandemic we’ll see in our lifetime. When you look at data from the past 100 years, you will notice new pandemics are occurring more often. A hybrid workplace reduces the likelihood of infection among employees, safeguarding your business from future health-related liabilities.

More Inclusion and Diversity

Business owners with traditional office setups love talking about inclusion and diversity, but their workforce is limited to applicants within their immediate vicinity. With a hybrid workplace model, you can hire from agencies and job sites all over the world.

Today, many startups and Global 2000 companies hire skilled remote workers from Asia and Europe, unlocking value and human capital that their traditional competitors can’t access.

Call Us and Find the Perfect Marketing Strategy for Your Hybrid Workplace

The hybrid workplace model was a fantasy until the COVID-19 pandemic, and many business owners and clients still believe that it’s a fad. If you want to find the perfect strategy to market your hybrid workplace to employees, investors, and prospective customers, contact our team of experts at 42 North Marketing.

Give us a call at 773-414-3613 or email info@42nmarketing.com, and get the best professional help available with your web development, digital marketing, and social media campaigns.

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