Hybrid Work Is Here To Stay. That’s A Good Thing
In the United States, it appears that the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic is winding down. New cases and deaths have dropped considerably. Schools have been reopening, and even concerts and live performances are resuming.
Of course, there’s one big thing I haven’t mentioned: Work. Essential workers have been on the grind since day one, dying of higher rates from COVID-19. Whether we’re talking about agricultural workers, those in construction, or of course health care personnel, those on the frontlines have faced considerable dangers at work.
For tens of millions of other Americans, work also changed — but in very different ways. Those at a variety of white collar jobs found themselves sitting in their living rooms or bedrooms, while their offices sat empty.
Conference rooms gave way to Zoom, Google Hangouts and Microsoft Teams. Many new employees who joined organizations during COVID-19, still have not met their new colleagues.
All of this raises an interesting question: What is the future of work? Will we return to the office, and go back to normal? Will COVID-19 simply be a blip? Or, will we see more fundamental changes?
My view is that we’ll see a mixed or hybrid model of work. That is, we will do some amount of in-person working, and the rest will be done remotely. I see this as a superior alternative to either working entirely in person, or full remote working. Here’s why.
Hybrid Work Allows Us To Flourish Independently, While Also Collaborating Effectively With One Another
As a business owner myself, I believe that the best breakthroughs at work happen when employees are offered an opportunity to work on their own, but also to collaborate as a group. This allows employees to engage in the sort of individualized deep work which drives an enterprise forward. They can then share what they’ve learned with the broader group.
Through collaboration, these insights can become even sharper. The team can come up with something far greater than the sum of it’s individual efforts. This is how great things happen.
The traditional office environment, where employees show up 5 (or more) days per week, isn’t always conducive to this sort of breakthrough work. For one, there’s lots of distractions. Whether it’s water cooler talk, workplace politics, or inane in-person meetings, offices have a way of drawing employees off track.
Yet, working entirely remotely isn’t optimal either. Working from home comes with it’s own distractions, including family, pets, and of course Netflix. What’s more, working from home can create an acute sense of fatigue.
That isn’t the only issue. At a fundamental level, companies are about people. Plenty of executives and senior managers make a mockery of this ideal. Yet, this doesn’t mean that we should abandon it.
A lot of people who work in different locations, never to meet in person, can work together. They can also feel some sense of connection with each other. Yet, there is a disconnect.
When it comes to the more important work, and the relationships involved, interacting face to face offers real advantages. Often, the great breakthroughs happen not during meetings, but during lunch or a coffee break. A sense of trust and connection isn’t built overnight. It is often easier in person.
Hybrid work allows for a balance between these two competing priorities. Employees can spend time on their own, doing work that matters. When needed, they might collaborate (virtually) with their colleagues. For more in-depth, serious issues, employees can work together in person, at the office.
Hybrid Work Helps Us Interact With Individuals From Other Organizations, Which Is Enriching For All
Let’s take a closer look at the portion of hybrid work where employees work outside of the office. There are several approaches an employee might take.
One is to work from their home. Obviously, this is the cheapest approach, and is convenient, in that you don’t have to go anywhere.
Of course, working from home can become monotonous. It might also impose numerous distractions. There’s nothing quite like being on a work call, while dealing with barking dogs, screaming kids, and construction noise in the background.
One alternative to working from home is joining a coworking space / shared office space. Here, you’ll enjoy access to a workspace i.e. a desk. Perhaps the desk is dedicated just to you, or maybe it is offered on a first come, first served basis. In some instances, you can even obtain a private office.
The people you share the space with will typically hail from a variety of different businesses. Some will be employees of large companies, while others might own their own ventures.
By interacting with people from different industries, who work in different capacities, you can learn and grow. You might come to see a problem in your work from a new perspective. Perhaps you’ll even find someone to help you solve it. Maybe you’ll find a new customer — or meet someone who knows prospective customers.
Of course, all productive working relationships are about reciprocity. Think of what you might contribute. Who and what do you know, which could benefit another professional? How can you add value to their business, and ultimately their life?
Here, I can personally attest to the benefits of collaborative work / coworking. My business partner and I joined Cowork South Bay in 2019. Since joining the space, we’ve met folks who have helped us with creating content, handling our accounting, and more. These were important undertakings. We’ve also referred business to professionals whom we met at our shared office space.
Hybrid Work Empowers UsTo Disperse Throughout The Country, Stimulating Broader Economic Growth & Greater Quality Of Life
Since the pandemic began, we’ve been hearing a lot about the exodus of residents out of costly urban areas like New York City & Silicon Valley. To some degree, I think the long-term impact of this trend has been overblown.
Tech companies (and others) have announced plans to expand office space in Manhattan and the Bay Area. Both from a perspective of social life and work, urban areas will retain a large degree of appeal. A global pandemic accentuates the flaws of city living, but more normal times will even out the balance between urban and suburban or rural areas.
With that said, it’s clear that not all workers need to be in the traditional metropolitan hubs. People are moving to Texas, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina, as well as smaller destinations like Montana and Idaho. Plenty of these folks enjoy well paying jobs.
US population growth has slowed considerably. Yet, it’s clear that some parts of the country, outside of the very biggest cities, are still growing. This is a good thing in several ways.
First, broad-based prosperity is a recipe for greater social stability. When wealth and economic growth is concentrated in a few areas, that can lead to resentment. When a wider range of places feel like they’re seeing economic improvement, that can lead to greater overall national cohesion.
As new residents move in, housing must be constructed. New shops will open. Some of those recent arrivals might even start their own businesses. All of this creates jobs.
Being able to work at least partially remotely makes it possible to move to another state, and buy a home in a good school district. It might mean more space, and the ability to spend more time outdoors. Ultimately, this leads to a greater sense of personal fulfillment. This makes for happier employees, and better communities.
Of course, growth isn’t entirely tension-free. Some of these new arrivals might have different political views from the natives of an area. This can create discord. Also, rapid development in smaller areas poses environmental risks, and might price out locals.
The Final Word
One of my favorite movies is the cult classic Office Space. The film, with Ron Livingston playing the role of central character Peter Gibbons, did a great job of satirizing the stifling bureaucracy and overall unhappiness of the American workplace. It’s a must watch.
One of the key plots of the film revolves around “TPS reports.” These reports are a series of documents which Peter must prepare and submit regularly. Peter’s boss, Bill Lumbergh (played brilliantly by Gary Cole), repeatedly bothers Peter for his TPS reports, often by repeating the same requests in a monotonous tone.
There’s plenty about the traditional office setting that reminds me of what we’ll call the TPS Report Syndrome. Workplaces can be bureaucratic, petty and often unproductive. Working remotely does have it’s benefits.
Yet, in-person collaboration is sometimes important. We do need to see our colleagues at least part of the time, in order to build an effective, cohesive team.
Ultimately, I think we should continue to have a large amount of remote work, while also having employees work in person sometimes. This is truly the best off both worlds.
I think we’re about to embark on an exciting new era of work. As an entrepreneur, I can’t wait to see what we learn.
