Hybrid work and flexible work is a great perk that many companies are now offering. After many companies were forced to start working from home, they saw that productivity levels stayed high, and employee happiness rose higher. With hybrid and flexible working becoming the new norm for so many people, employees may still feel a little lost. A lot goes into flexible working, and one of those challenges is scheduling your week to align with your working preferences. A little extra thought goes into what days you schedule meetings, what days you need a babysitter, etc. While flexible work is amazing once you master it, there are ways to get the hang of small details that will make your life easier.
The workday routine isn’t as cut and dry as it used to be. The days of repetitively getting up, commuting, working, going home, and repeating all week is no longer. There a few different situations and scenarios that make it easy for you to schedule which days to go into the office when flexibly working.
Go into the office for important meetings
Video conferencing has made work meetings accessible from anywhere. Attending meetings/conferences by video may not always be the best option. Some meetings are better, more serious, and more productive in person. Whether it’s a client meeting, a large monthly sales meeting, a marketing or product rebrand, or another important meeting, attending in person can make a big difference. Sometimes, it’s also a powerful way to signal the importance of a meeting.
Projects that require in-person collaboration
There are a few ways to keep people engaged and collaborative via video meetings. But there are still a handful of tasks that are simply easier in person. In person collaboration sessions can be more productive for some people, and can create a more inspiring environment. Working together with your colleagues in a physical space, grabbing lunch or coffee, and having an in person way to share ideas can help grow trust and a sense of connection. This will ultimately improve the outcome of a project, and future projects, too!
Interviewing job candidates for both in person and flexible positions
There are definitely benefits to doing 1st or even 2nd round interviewing remotely. It makes the recruiting process much easier when you can start off with phone or video calls. Especially if you are interviewing a large pool of candidates initially, you will save time and money. Once you get to the final stages of interviewing, conducting an in person interview is the way to go. Interviewing job candidates face-to-face can help give you a better understanding of their personality. You’ll be able to instantly see how well an individual will fit with the team, and convey certain messages better in person.
The same goes for new employees. Even if they will mostly be working from home, or given the opportunity to work flexibly, it’s important that they feel comfortable with the workspace for when they do come to the office. Giving new hires a full tour, showing them areas they can/cannot access, and introducing them to other employees makes for a great start. You could even consider hosting a lunch and having mostly remote employees come into the office to meet the new hire. Meeting in person first, and then continuing to work together on calls and video is a good way to feel more connected right off the bat.
If you’ve already worked from home several days in a row
One thing to remember while working flexible, or hybrid, is that you are not fully working remote. If bosses and companies are allowing you to work fully remote, that’s fine! But a lot of companies like to adopt the flexible work environment so their employees still have the opportunity to work remotely part-time, but because they also value in person work as well.
The big shift towards hybrid & flexible work has definitely erased some misconceptions around productivity. The idea that the amount of time people spend at their desks is a useful gauge of performance is a thing of the past. This doesn’t mean, however, that showing your face at work is useless. Working closely together with colleagues can help keep teams connected. It also promotes greater organic sharing of information, reducing silos and other barriers to teamwork.
If you’ve working at home for several days in a row, coming into the office can help to renew bonds with colleagues. It will ensure you stay in the loop, and give you some solid motivation when it comes to team projects.
Working flexible during team or company socials
Company culture is directly linked to employee engagement and productivity. Maintaining company culture and employee bonds while people are working from home can be difficult. This is why it’s important to still host teambuilding and social activities – some of which occur in person.
Conferences, meetings and even happy hours are just a few events that have gone virtual recently. Virtual events have many benefits, including the opportunity to easily and quickly widen reach. But while they will always play a role in the marketing and sales processes, they don’t connect communities in the same way that in-person events do.
Virtual events are here to stay, but we should opt for in-person events whenever possible.
When you simply need a place to focus or change or scenery
While employees tend to report that they’ve found remote work to be highly productive, working from home can also be distracting sometimes. Family members, pets, and household chores can all steal focus. It may be difficult for some employees to find a quiet space to concentrate.
When you really need to hunker down and work, sometimes there’s no better place than the office.
If your office hasn’t made the switch to hybrid/flexible working, check out our blog post on how to move towards a flexible work environment!