We are Hybrid: Now What?
For years, one of my clients created the most collaborative, co-workable space for her team to thrive. Her design eye was exquisite, so even though the large, open space was full of work cubicles, the lighting, art, colors, and vibe of the space was inviting and supportive. Their fully-stocked showroom was a visit to a custom boutique, and people popped in and out looking for samples and sharing ideas.
You can likely imagine that, as the urban commute got longer and more complicated with constant construction projects and a growing suburban community, her team wanted to know more about flexible working hours, work-from-home days, and other ways to ease the stress of coming to an albeit lovely place called “work.”
Consistently, the answer was a resounding no ... their work culture was built on being creatively interruptive, pulling people together in an instant to look at a client project, or using a teachable moment to inspire continued growth. Their shoulder-to-shoulder space, with healthy snacks in the kitchen and a welcoming attitude to bringing your dog along for the day, didn’t jibe with conference calls or Teams instant messaging.
Until it did.
Almost instantly, like many companies in the past two years, this business converted first into an entirely work-from-home team, then later to a sometimes in/sometimes out of the office team. Soon, people who had never lived in this town became part of that team. If it’s true you can do some businesses from anywhere, then it’s true: they do.
After the initial novelty wore off and Zoom happy hours became even more tedious... no matter what sort of fancy drink or hat they decided to wear on camera... this group of mostly extroverts missed their colleagues, missed their work together. Sure, they could see each other via webcam, and it was true, many did not miss that commute, but they missed other things: incidental conversations, quick questions answered by stopping by someone’s desk, or overhearing another exchange between colleagues. Virtually, it wasn’t the same. It isn’t the same.
Sometimes, we long for the energy of all being together: does anyone else miss cafés, live music, markets or festivals, or museums? Yes, in many instances, we can now experience some semblance of gathering, but we are hybrid: at school, at work, at church, for art, and in the foreseeable future. How can you enhance the hybrid experience so that your team can make the most of a kind of work that may not be entirely clear about location and time as constant elements of how they work together?
Here are some ideas:
Practice increased specificity. You need to be much more specific and clarify many more things. Otherwise, you risk both efficiency and effectiveness, eventually impacting innovation and creativity. Use the phrase, “And what would that look like?” as an everyday part of conversations when making plans and setting forth on projects.
Question old ways of thinking. Is it true that you have to be “open” certain working hours? How much flexibility can you weave into someone’s working week and still meet your goals and objectives? How can you consistently, with discipline, think ‘out of the box?
Know yourself and take care. For some, working from home or having flexible hours was a great sense of relief and freedom, and research shows that this improves productivity, but not everyone has the same variables, so the first step is to ask team members to get clear on what they want and need to work at their best. Inquire if there are ways to work with them to support this. Hold people accountable for practicing self-care. Some might require help setting boundaries.
