The evolution of hybrid working

The evolution of hybrid working

Remote work started as a temporary requirement, and now it evolved into a necessity. Workers no longer want to come into offices and businesses have to adapt to this demand.

Companies such as Meta, Google, Dow Jones, and Microsoft started the process of returning to the office. However, this so-called “great return” is not going to bring back the 9 to 5, in-office traditional work model that existed before the Covid pandemic.

Many organizations continue to offer fully remote options to their employees. However, being fully remote doesn’t always bring the best results. People found that working fully remote on platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet removed the company culture and all the advantages that physical offices had to offer.

Teamwork has been in our DNA since prehistoric times. The urges to work together and socialize are even evolutionary. That’s why the best work we do is usually born in a collaborative effort, and this collaboration has been greatly affected on remote work.

But let’s have a look at how the working landscape evolved over time and what the future holds.

Step 1 - Digitalization of Office Equipment

The first step traditional offices made was to digitalize the office equipment and make work more efficient. Software programs started to replace the need for slow and buggy hardware equipment, and work efficiency has skyrocketed.

Companies managed to create an environment where employees could work with documents and coworkers from another office like it was one environment, even if those offices were in different countries. At the same time, the in-office landscape has allowed teams to create amazing creative work.

Step 2 - Digitalization of Meetings and Remote Work

Even before the Covid pandemic, companies were looking for ways to improve the online meeting equipment. The need to stay connected with people who are in different areas was asking for a solution.

When companies were forced to find solutions for workers who no longer could come to work, voice and video conferencing softwares became the norm. Zoom, Webex, and Microsoft Teams were the go-to solutions for companies looking for a way to work from home.

However, this digitalization came with a price. With less and less in-office presence and social interaction, innovation and corporate culture suffered. Home office workers felt isolated, and the ties between company and employee loosened, ultimately leading to the “great resignation”.

Step 3 - The Office Moves to the Cloud

The work landscape has been changed forever. The pandemic allowed people to see the advantages of remote work and now there’s no desire to come back to the office 5 days a week.

Businesses need to find a solution for hybrid work scenarios, where people have the liberty to work from where they want and when they want, but still benefit from all the advantages the traditional offices brings. We need to combine the traditional office with the virtual one.

In other words, the technology we use for remote work has to evolve. Video conferencing isn’t enough to collaborate with one another and produce amazing work results. We need easy-to-use technology that allows the immersion of remote work and blend it in a traditional office environment, where anyone can join and be part of the team.

People need to be connected in the office and with their coworkers, no matter where they join from.

Hybrid Work is The Future

One thing is clear, hybrid work is here to stay. We need to find a balance between the advantages of having a traditional office where people can collaborate, talk with one another and socialize, and bring ideas to the table, with the advantages of working remotely and having an international talent pool.

Businesses that manage to implement a hybrid work environment will surpass those that don’t evolve with the new demand of the workforce. Creating a personalized, flexible, and attractive hybrid work model will help attract and retain top talent. And the productivity of the teams will increase, which will generate results that businesses stuck in the old ways will not be able to match.

At the same time, business owners should consider implementing the values of trust and autonomy to their hybrid offices. Clinging to outdated processes, expectations, and thinking doesn’t align with what employees need and it’s not sustainable.

Creating a hybrid model that will be successful in the long-term will require bold leadership and a change in management to allow workers to manage their workload. A culture of trust and autonomy can be created when managers empower their team instead of micromanaging them.

As challenging as it is to implement it efficiently, hybrid work will be the norm of the future. In this future, people will be able to come in-office, travel, or stay at home, and collaborate with each other on an immersive platform that blends the physical and virtual world.

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A successful hybrid work model requires an adequate technical platform. ivCAMPUS combines the benefits of physical offices with those of remote collaboration. We digitalized office interactions to allow people to intuitively work together, socialize, and be part of the company culture just as they would in a real office. And all of this in an immersive platform that they can access from anywhere they want.

Find out more about ivCAMPUS.

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