Hybrid Work From Home Model: How to Adapt Workplace Flexibility Problem?

No matter what type of change your business needs to make, whether it is moving to a hybrid work from home system or adapting to a new computer system, it can be difficult. You need a high level of workplace flexibility in order to adapt to that change, and while you might have it, your employees might not.

Workplace flexibility is the ability of a workplace to adapt to change and deal with changing circumstances. If you have a high level of workplace flexibility, then your team should be able to handle change without trouble. Moreover, if the business needs to be moved to a hybrid work from home model, then some workplace flexibility issues might need to be handled.

Before you get started with creating a good hybrid work from home schedule. You need to focus on fixing any workplace flexibility problems.

Thankfully, fixing these problems only takes a few steps that any business owner can take. Plus, improving workplace flexibility can also improve the morale and the connection of your team.

Pros and Cons From Going Remote

Pros and Cons From Going Remote

• You have a chance to really put your mental strength to the test considering your home has so many distractions.
• Some find that they have an opportunity to get their health and nutrition back on track.
• A remote worker tends to have great scheduling and time management skills.

• It is a huge energy shift when you go from working in a designated workplace to the comfort of your home. This energy shift can affect your mental health as well as physical if you are not great with change.
• You may have to spend some time testing out different work areas in your home to find the right space, which in turn, can be frustrating at first.

What Is A Hybrid Work From Home Model?

A hybrid work from home model, rather than having a team member work from home full time or work in the office full time, has elements of both. Often, some team members can work out of a centralized office while other members are able to work from home.

This is beneficial for a number of reasons. It allows for workers to have some control over their own schedules, lets bosses better delegate and manage tasks, and can make working in difficult circumstances easier. Plus, workers are able to spend more time with their families, spend more time working and less on driving, and work wherever they please.

While most hybrid work from home models do have a central office where most of the team gathers and assigns work to the remote team, other remote work models are fully remote. Everyone is remote and there is no central location, and this is typically found with freelance jobs and companies.

If you want to know how to create a hybrid work from home schedule and a suitable hybrid model of work from home, then read on!

3 Ways To Support A Hybrid Work From Home Schedule

1. Think Mobile

For a hybrid work from home model, it can become almost impossible for bosses and project leads to communicate with their clients. As much as most workers like to say they are, they aren’t always online. Breaks, family emergencies, mechanical and technical problems, and other events can keep workers away from their computers.

If you need to connect with a worker quickly, one of the best ways to get to them is by thinking mobile. Giving them a call, a text, or having them enable notifications on a website like Slack or Discord, can get your message to their phone. No matter what, it seems like every single worker has their phone with them in order to manage hybrid time pressure.

While it might seem annoying, connecting with your employees over the phone is actually a great way to connect with them. You can be assured that they should always see your messages, even if they can’t respond right away, while they feel the need to get their work done. Having constant reminders on their mobile device should help them adapt to the new schedule.

2. Build A Virtual Office

With all the remote work models items going around, it can seem impossible to feel like you are part of a team. Instead, everyone just feels like individuals, connected by one or two project leads. However, if you can build a virtual smart office that uses simultaneous audio and video, it can bring that sense of office camaraderie back to your team.

These ‘office hours’ can easily be created, and it is a great way to make sure that your team still acts like a team. Even a few minutes of casual conversation or an hour working alongside other team members silently can boost productivity and enjoyment. Plus, it makes everyone involved feel less alone, and who doesn’t want that?

Even though they are still having to adapt because they are not inside of your office, your team can have a much easier time with workplace flexibility if they can see their colleagues every day.

3. Continuous Communication

One of the hardest parts of managing a remote team with a hybrid model of work from home is often the lack of communication. No matter how hard you try, it seems like someone is always going to be left out of the Slack channel or miss an email or meeting. In order to have some form of continuous communication, you need something quick and easily digestible.

Sometimes, a quick podcast or newsletter can really help keep your employees and workers informed about what is going on in your business and industry. They are fairly easy to make and put out weekly, and your team should have a direct communication line to see what is going on in the office.

If you don’t want to do that, then a weekend or beginning of the week email blast is also a very good idea. You can touch on topics that matter in the industry, anything your group needs to know, and announcements for the coming days. Just make sure to send it out at around the same time every day, as consistency is key.

Preparing For Hybrid Work

In some fashion, the hybrid work environment or hybrid office is going to be here to stay, and every single business needs to prepare for a good hybrid work from home model. Even if your business only has a few small freelancers or remote workers to its name, you should still be prepared for more people to follow suit. No matter what type of work from home model you are using, you should be prepared to handle a very rigid workforce in terms of workplace flexibility.

Making sure that you can still keep up the ideals and organization of your business, even within the confines of a hybrid model of work from home, is something every business should strive to achieve. Then you can start making your entire business more flexible.