To work from home or from the office. That is the modern question. And it’s one that’s on many business owners’ and employees’ minds. There are plenty of advantages for either side of the argument – working from home is less costly, particularly with the price of petrol over recent months. Working from the office, on the other hand, boosts connectedness and company culture.
But why should it be a question of one or the other? Hybrid working is rising in popularity, and it’s easy to see why. It allows both businesses and employees to benefit from the best of both worlds. Let’s take a quick look at the advantages of hybrid working from both sides of the coin.
4 Advantages Of Hybrid Working For Your Employees
Your team members are the heart and soul of your business, and you want to make sure that they are happy as well as productive. These four benefits of hybrid working for employees really do make sure that’s the case.
1. They can connect to those around them
Virtual meetings may have become the norm over the past few years, but there’s still nothing quite like sitting in front of another person, sharing a cup of coffee, and seeing their reactions. As someone who works remotely 90% of the time, take it from me. My recent trip to the Cape Town office made it clear to me how important connection really is. I was able to get to know my colleagues on a more personal level, chatting while we worked and feeling like I was truly part of the team, rather than outside of it.
2. They still have flexibility
One of the best benefits of a hybrid work schedule is that it embraces flexibility. Coming into the office for two or three days a week means that your teams still have a lot of the flexibility that working from home affords them. While some companies let their teams choose the days that they want to come in, and others encourage everyone to be in the office on the same days, there is still wiggle room. You could allow your teams to work from home in the mornings and make their way to the office in the afternoons, avoiding the worst of the traffic, for example. Allowing your teams to work flexibly and make space for the important aspects of their job as well as their home life will show them that you care for their wellbeing, and having a hybrid work environment allows you to do just that.
3. There will be more opportunities to set aside focus time
Some people work better in an office environment, while others are perfectly suited to working from home. Opting to follow one method or the other will mean that there are always some people in your team who are more distracted than others. By taking on a hybrid approach, you will give those team members who have a more chaotic home situation a chance to focus in the office, while those who are easily distracted by co-workers talking around them will be able to find their focus on the days that they’re working from home.
4. They will have a better work-life balance
When your humans are working from home all day, every day, it’s easy for work to take over their life. There is little time to separate work and home spaces, especially in an age when communication is round-the-clock. They will likely find themselves lapsing into the habit of responding to everything ASAP, even when it’s an email that comes into their mailbox at 10pm, well outside of their working hours. But one of the benefits of a hybrid workspace is that it makes balancing work life and home life a little easier. There will still be days where your teams work from their home offices, but there will also be days when they leave their work at the office. That little bit of separation can go a long way towards improving your humans’ family lives, while still boosting your teams’ overall productivity.
4 Advantages of Hybrid Working For Your Company
Your employees’ wellbeing is one of your top priorities, but you are also running a business, and you want to make sure that you are making the right choices for your company as well. There are plenty of benefits to a hybrid work model for the companies that put them in place, as well as for the humans who make use of the flexibility that they allow for.
1. You’ll see improved productivity
Some people find that a home office is the most conducive space for concentrating. In fact, remote working has seen productivity soar. But no two people are the same, and while some employees thrive in their home offices, others need an office environment to reach their full potential. By providing your teams with the flexibility to work in the space that is most productive for them, you’ll see an increase in the amount of work that gets done.
2. You’ll notice knowledge being shared
When people are in the same room together, there’s a certain amount of knowledge that gets absorbed. Say, for example, that one team member has their own routines and rituals that help them to stay productive, while another has a couple of tips and tricks up his or her sleeve for getting the most out of one of your platforms. And when these two humans are in a room together, they tend to see the way the other works, learn from each other, and in turn find better and more efficient ways of working. This is what we like to think of as whisper guidance – small pieces of information that get transferred from one team member to another when they’re working in the same space.
3. Your teams will better embrace your company culture
Company culture doesn’t happen on its own. It needs to be fostered. And fostering and maintaining a culture over digital platforms is incredibly difficult to achieve. Human interaction is needed for your team members to connect to each other, and to your business. By bringing your humans into the office a few days a week, you have the opportunity to build your company culture and help your humans embrace it. You’ll have opportunities to show your values in action, and help your teams connect with the goals behind everything you do. This will, in turn, help them to maintain that company culture even when they are working from their home offices.
4. Employee satisfaction
Hybrid working is a self-fulfilling prophecy in many ways. Flexibility, company culture and personal growth makes employees happy. And happy employees are far more attached to your company, connect with your culture and open themselves to further growth. Happy employees are also far less likely to look outside of your business for meaningful fulfilment, since they already see the value that they are able to add to your business, and know that they are appreciated for it.
How Microsoft Modern Workplace Makes Hybrid Environments A Reality
As you can tell, there are plenty of advantages of hybrid working from both perspectives. And perhaps you’re already interested in embracing all the hybrid has to offer. It’s all well and good to decide that hybrid working is the right fit for your business, but what tools are available to make it happen?
The truth is that Microsoft 365 already embraces hybrid work environments in plenty of ways. Microsoft has long understood that the way we work is changing, and the cloud services that they offer, their modern workplace suite, makes it easy for businesses to work in the ways that suit their company culture.
As a Microsoft Gold Partner, Solid Systems has in-depth understanding of the benefits that Microsoft’s modern workplace offers to companies, and can help you to put the right Microsoft tools in place that will see you embracing hybrid environments, and thriving because of it.
Are you ready to start going hybrid? Get in touch with us today to find out how we can help.
