As people are now planning their return to the office in a post-pandemic world, a wide range of research has indicated that the majority of workers want to continue to work from home some of the time to maintain a balance in their lives, for the sake of themselves and their loved ones. However, this presents a number of challenges for organisations to establish new ways of working. Flexible working is something that will soon become part of the New Normal and is something that we have had to think hard about at Technology Support 24/7. While some employees want to work from home all the time, some want balance. How can organisations implement a hybrid approach that will strike the balance for everyone concerned?
What Is Hybrid Working Defined As?
Hybrid working is defined as a way of working that will have a mixture of working from home or a remote location, as well as working on-site in the office. For many who have been used to working from home, returning to the office may seem like an alien world, therefore, hybrid working provides a variety of opportunities, in terms of the employee, as well as the technology.
Organisations that do not support flexible ways of working could run the risk of increasing employee turnover, as well as have an impact on attracting future talent. Hybrid working provides a number of opportunities for employees and employers, which would include improving employee well-being, which would boost productivity as well as reducing overall facilities costs.
What Are the Benefits of Hybrid Working?
While there are a number of challenges the pandemic posed, employees still want to have the benefits of hybrid working or working from home completely. Hybrid working can include some of the following benefits.
While the full benefits of hybrid working are yet to be fully researched and realised, it is clear that it will benefit both employees and employers.
- Fewer distractions.
- Better work-life balance.
- Increased concentration.
- Reduced commuting time.
- Higher levels of motivation.
How Can Businesses Use Hybrid Working to Their Advantage?
As companies are needing to provide a more flexible approach to work, this means they can utilise employees better. This could mean having extra meetings or calls due to employees not commuting because they may want to get online earlier and finish the day sooner. This is where we all recognise the benefits of a solid IT support system.
With many businesses and organisations realising how insufficient their IT packages were at the height of the pandemic, this has meant a drastic evaluation of using remote workers in the right way. Hybrid working provides a number of benefits for the business because they can increase their communications better.
As organisations start to improve their IT services, this can improve communication in a number of ways. It also means that as employees are more relaxed, businesses can utilise employees better and maintain a higher or more productive workload. Additionally, if employees are opting for a hybrid approach but some are looking to work remotely, this can benefit the bottom line as businesses can reduce their outgoings. For example, they could reduce rental costs while also improving their carbon footprint.
What Are the Challenges of Hybrid Working?
One of the biggest challenges of hybrid working is maintaining communication and collaboration. We all relied on technology to see us through the pandemic. When we transitioned to fully remote work in March 2020, we had to overcome a number of technological difficulties, but this is where IT infrastructure makes a big difference.
Organisations were ill-equipped to deal with such a huge amount of remote work, so when employees started returning to the office, they were more than understanding of the major impacts an ill-equipped IT infrastructure posed.
IT infrastructure suppliers such as us have helped many to understand the importance of an excellent IT infrastructure. For hybrid working to succeed, there needs to be technological foundations to help people to communicate and collaborate.
Tech Is a Vital Lifeline for the New Normal
Hybrid working is part of the New Normal. As long as anybody works with a secure connection, it’s possible for anyone to be productive. We’ve all understood our limits as far as productivity is concerned. Therefore, hybrid working can have a positive impact on many areas of business.
Embracing this flexibility doesn’t just have a positive impact on the business, but it can improve employee well-being, and from a technological perspective, it will guarantee organisations improve their focus on getting the best technical solutions in place.
The best technology and IT solutions will guarantee businesses are more able to deal with challenges now and in the future, especially if there is the potential for an increase in remote work. Hybrid working is here to stay, and the tech that underpins it is so important, which is why we are determined to provide the next phase of support to help employees and employers gravitate toward the New Normal with ease.
If you are looking for a proactive, strategic support IT company to help you and your team navigate hybrid working please do get in touch here.
