By Paras Arora, Founder & CEO, Qdesq
A person spends more than twelve hours a day for work and in-office, so it becomes pertinent to provide a work environment that is productive and engaging. In the post-pandemic era, most offices are looking at a working model that is employee focussed and as a result, have started to realize the potential of a hybrid workspace.
A hybrid work environment provides flexibility to the employee as they can either work from the office on certain days or work every day from a coworking space near their residence which is also a testimonial of improved carbon footprint. Depending on the circumstances and the expectations of your company, anyone might work one to four days a week in the office and one to four days a week remotely. As a result, hybrid work may be the best blend of completely remote and totally in-person models.
Many businesses have observed over the past two years that entirely remote work diminishes human connection, leads to an adverse impact on employee mental health, and impedes team formation. Adopting the hybrid work model allows your business to create an equilibrium between these two possibilities, cutting operational expenses, and providing your staff with the liberty of working from home while also providing the connection and engagement of in-office work.
Hybrid model may be broadly classified into three categories:
1. Decentralized Office – The concept of establishing satellite offices closer to employees’ homes is known as office decentralization. This approach eliminates dependency on a single central office, offers teams with accessible, agile, and efficient work environments.
2. Flexible workspace – A flexible workplace is an office area that includes a variety of innovative workstation configurations. Workplaces of various sorts often include:
• Hot-desks – These are non-fixed desks or workstations that may be used by any employee.
• Open offices – This is a work environment in which all employees from all departments are housed in the same room.
• Collaborative coworking spaces – These are essentially office sharing spaces.
3. On-demand Office – On-demand office space is a workspace that is accessible when a company requires it and does not require a regular presence from the company.
The hybrid workplace may appear to be a temporary solution to a transitory problem, it is actually a solution for the employment landscape. It is about structuring and balancing work, safety, communication, and mental wellness.
Enterprises can use technology solutions to customize their hybrid workplaces. For example, technology solutions can be used to reduce monthly expenses, ensure business continuity and employee productivity. Technology solutions can be used for discovering workplaces, comparing workplaces or booking them hassle free. Technology can also be used for workspace usage scheduling and creating a management interface for enterprises which enables them to utilize and monitor limited workspace over a larger set of employees via rotational shifts. Enterprises can also use workplace planning tools to evaluate the perfect workspace solution for their business. These tools can be used for understanding key requirements and providing cost-saving analysis considering a company’s business growth and market inflation.
If there has been a glimmer of hope in the preceding two years, it is that the pandemic has enabled us to redefine the workspace and the potential for optimization. While technology solutions have been available today, in order for the hybrid workplace to be effective, it must be adequately planned and implemented.