- The Advantages of a Hybrid Work Schedule
- Understanding the Drawbacks of Hybrid Work Schedules
- Solutions to Hybrid Work Challenges with Alliance Virtual Offices
Q. What are the primary benefits of adopting a hybrid work schedule?
A. The primary benefits include improved work-life balance for employees, increased productivity, reduced operational costs for businesses, and the ability to attract and retain top talent by meeting their preference for flexible working conditions.
Hybrid work schedules are becoming more popular than ever, and over 63% of high-revenue growth companies have embraced them.
Currently, about 41% of employees with remote-capable jobs are already working hybrid, according to Pew Research.
Moreover, more job applicants are directing their efforts toward hybrid jobs. A review of all the job applications submitted via LinkedIn in December 2023 showed that 19.8% of all the job applications in the U.S. went to hybrid job postings.
Projections suggest that over 36 million Americans will be engaged in hybrid work schedules by 2025.
From all indications, it’s clear that the notion of a hybrid work schedule entices both the workforce and business owners—from small to large-scale businesses.
At its basis, the idea behind remote work schedules is very simple: employees get to work from home on some days during the work week, and on other days, they work from the office, a virtual office space, or a co-working space.
There are various approaches to hybrid work schedules, all of which are, at the very least, flexible work arrangements that can adapt to fit various organizational demands.
However, although hybrid work has been touted as the most advantageous work schedule, there are some drawbacks that business owners, managers, and team leaders must consider before implementing it as part of their workflow.
In this article, we’ll:
- Elaborate on the benefits of hybrid work schedules
- Address the common drawbacks of hybrid work schedules and how business owners and managers can implement effective countermeasures.
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The Benefits of a Hybrid Work Schedule
The benefits of hybrid work schedules are quite extensive, but a few stand out as the most appealing for both employees and businesses.
Increased Flexibility and Improved Work-Life Balance
Flexibility is a core attribute of hybrid work, one that’s most beloved by employees.
Gone are the days when the idea of work revolves around being hunched over in a cubicle under strict directives to get tasks done a certain way.
Modern employees are demanding more flexibility in the workplace, or they walk. A hybrid work schedule is one of the easiest and most convenient ways that most businesses with remote-capable roles can offer their employees.
Even better, this flexibility sometimes comes with a bonus attached: autonomy.
Some businesses and HR teams adopt a flexible hybrid work model, which is an employee-first model that gives employees the autonomy to decide their own schedule—as long as it makes them more productive.
The gift of flexible work arrangements and the sense of autonomy empower employees to curate their work lives to blend more agreeably with their personal lives.
The more flexible the arrangement, the more they are able to create more time for the things and people they love while juggling work with more efficiency.
As a result, their work-life balance is greatly improved, and they are more productive.
Work-life balance means different things to different employees.
For one, it could mean the opportunity to play around with their pets or quickly tend to their garden during work breaks.
For another, it could mean being able to pick up their kids from school by themselves during the day instead of having them uncomfortably wait behind at school until they are done from the office.
Whatever the meaning, hybrid work has helped about 71% of hybrid workers with the ability to balance their work and personal lives.
Enhanced Productivity and Reduced Operational Cost
For business owners and managers running hybrid work schedules, there are many reasons to smile at the bank.
Hybrid work schedules are designed with the aim of ensuring maximum productivity from employees. Even when an employee or a team is deciding when and where to work, their schedule will only fit if it makes them productive.
Increased employee productivity directly translated to overall productivity for the company.
Employees can get more done, and processes become more efficient and effective, leading to a positive boost in the company’s bottom line.
Moreover, many businesses are able to save a lot of money with hybrid work schedules. Recent estimates show that businesses can save up to $10,600 per employee annually with hybrid remote work models.
The substantial savings are a result of cutting down on operational costs associated with office leases and running an office every workday.
For context, many businesses have found themselves on the brink of shutting down operations simply because of utility bills. Think electricity, heating, air conditioning, gas, trash, etc.
The cost of using these utilities can be substantial enough to make a significant dent on the company’s finances.
A case could be made of New York, where the state instituted a relief program that helped about 56,000 small businesses with their electric and natural gas bills.
Beyond utility bills, there’s also the cost of maintaining the office space and everything therein daily—office supplies, electronic devices, kitchenette/break room, etc. Small bills that amount to thousands of dollars annually.
By opting for hybrid work schedules and minimizing utility consumptions and the frequency of maintenance or replacement of office supplies, many businesses are able to take a huge chunk off their operational costs.
Most modern businesses take the extra step to eliminate the burden of office leases by going for virtual office spaces alongside other hybrid work solutions.
This smart move could result in tens of thousands of dollars in savings, allowing businesses to channel more money into other business-building affairs.
Employee Satisfaction and Talent Retention
According to a study by Gallup, about 90% of U.S. employees with remote-capable jobs prefer the flexibility of remote work, and most lean toward hybrid work.
The study also shows that employees who have the opportunity to decide where to work tend to be less burned out, are more engaged at work, and are less likely to quit.
In fact, 30% of employees with remote-capable jobs are extremely likely to quit if they are not offered any sort of hybrid remote work flexibility.
These indicators show that employees with remote-capable jobs tend to be more satisfied with flexible work arrangements.
Where employee satisfaction thrives, employees are less inclined to leave the company. 75% of employees will not leave their current jobs if they work in a hybrid work schedule. And over 60% of HR leaders indicated that hybrid work boosts retention, with 80% reporting that it leads to a more satisfied workforce.
Employees are happier and more loyal in flexible work arrangements and are more naturally inclined to stay put in such settings.
The Drawbacks of Hybrid Work Schedules
Hybrid work comes with benefits and drawbacks, and both sides equally require utmost consideration. But if there’s ever one that requires more consideration than the other, it’s the drawbacks.
Poor Communication and Team Cohesion
Poor communication is the foundation of most productivity challenges of hybrid work.
Working from different locations often means that teams have to rely on various communication channels for communication and collaboration.
When communication is in texts and without the help of non-verbal cues, it becomes harder for the recipient to apply intended tone, nuance, or context. As a result, meanings are lost and communication could be unclear.
Even when team meetings are held via videoconferencing platforms, interactions tend to be more impersonal and offer no or low inspiration for team members to engage fully.
Furthermore, many people are less willing to actively participate in virtual meetings than in physical meetings unless they are the meeting host or a key presenter. Otherwise, the meeting might as well be another background noise to check in on occasionally.
As communication becomes more flawed and less engaging, team cohesion begins to fizzle out.
In the absence of team cohesion, team members may feel less connected to other team members and equally less inclined to put a lot of effort into collaborative processes, further reducing the company’s overall productivity.
It’s important to note that sometimes poor communication is also a product of overcommunication and too many virtual meetings: inundating team members with information in an attempt to feed them everything they need to do things exactly the way you want.
The Burden of Managing a Distributed Workforce
A distributed workforce is not the easiest to manage, especially when team members are in different time zones.
The challenges of managing a distributed workforce are multifold and could take any form. Thus:
- Fewer opportunities to be mentored at work: Given that the employees are not always in the office and the days they are in the office are often designated for more serious work, the business owner or team leader may find it difficult to schedule time to coach team members.
- Micromanagement: As comical as it may seem, it’s easy for you, as a business owner or team leader, to pop out from your office occasionally and check on your team’s engagement with given tasks without necessarily disturbing their workflow. With hybrid work, you might have to fight the temptation of requesting updates every other half-hour or checking in to know if team members are actually doing the work while at home. This might constitute stress for both parties, to the point that even when you call for a casual checkup, it might be perceived otherwise.
- Difficulty keeping everybody on the same page: The effects of poor communication also extend to the point where employees might have different ideas of the company’s priorities, depending on how they perceive updates. It’s easy to assume that an email drove a point home, but soliciting quick feedback from your team members might reveal that it bore different points. Additionally, business owners and team leaders sometimes unconsciously prefer employees who are at the office more often than those who are not. As a result, they share more vital information with some employees while others are kept in the dark.
Difficulty Maintaining a Consistent Company Culture
Maintaining a sense of shared values, belonging, and standards among team members who hardly see each other can be difficult.
As businesses adopt hybrid work models, it’s also becoming difficult to maintain a consistent work culture. This is especially true in cases where the business outsources some of its functions or employees are rarely at the office.
Since enough time or the right environment has not been established for employees to imbibe these values, they might embody certain behaviors and attitudes that do not reflect the organization’s ethos.
Employees who lack this regard might inadvertently jeopardize the company’s brand image while representing the company to the public.
Overcoming Hybrid Work Schedule Drawbacks
As most hybrid work challenges stem from poor communication, various shades of effective communication will suffice as a great fix for these challenges.
Solutions for Improving Team Unity and Communication
Businesses are mostly as good as their employees and teams and the bond between them.
Here are two great ways you can ensure quality team bonding.
Regular virtual check-ins
It is great that you occasionally send your employees private emails and messages to check on their progress and well-being.
But you know what would be better?
Having casual group sessions online where all team members get to freely share their insights and ideas about given tasks, celebrate little wins when they cross a milestone or figure out a way around certain problems, and also get to talk about every other thing happening in their day.
This could help create a feeling of openness, honesty, and connectedness among team members.
Regular virtual check-ins help team leaders attain the following four principles of hybrid work, according to Forbes:
- Purpose: If well set up, regular virtual check-ins will give employees something to look forward to every other day.
- Inclusivity: The casualness of regular check-ins encourages team members to be more participatory in team sessions without making them feel like active participation is reserved for certain people.
- Team working model: Each team member learns to acknowledge that virtual check-ins are a regular part of the organization’s/team’s operations and accept them as part of their work schedule.
- Development: These check-ins serve as opportunities for team members to learn from the organization and one another. Learning doesn’t necessarily stop at work-related concerns; it might extend to provide insights into opportunities for self- and career development.
Designing your virtual check-ins with these points in mind can help you build and maintain a very strong bond across your teams.
Team Building Activities
The nature of hybrid work schedules requires that businesses go the extra mile to make the virtual workspace fun for the employees. This is necessary for boosting employee morale, sustaining engagement, and, more importantly, maintaining team cohesion.
Some popular team-building activities for hybrid teams include:
Activities like icebreakers and trivia can be incorporated during work meetings to ease tension, relax the mind, and get team members excited about the session.
Virtual coffee breaks and virtual happy hours are similar to regular virtual check-ins but without the work aspect.
Technologies for Managing Hybrid Teams
Some of the productivity challenges common to hybrid work schedules are things that appropriate application of technologies can fix.
Hybrid work technologies are crucial across three main aspects of hybrid business operations: team communication, team collaboration, and project management.
In all aspects, technology essentially bridges the gap between employees working from different locations, allowing them to:
- Communicate in real-time using instant messaging and video conferencing tools, such as Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft Teams.
- Collaborate effectively using tools like Microsoft Office 365 and Google Workspace to simultaneously work on documents and share files, streamlining workflows.
- Manage projects effortlessly across different teams and timelines, ensuring everyone is equally up-to-date on project activities and held accountable for their roles. Some tools for facilitating project management in hybrid teams include Monday, Asana, and Trello.
Technology also plays a significant role in securing business-sensitive data. Hybrid work schedules increase cybersecurity risks, as employees are constantly accessing data from home networks that lack strong security infrastructure.
Businesses can use various security software and virtual private networks to mask and secure their data, limiting the occurrence of phishing attacks, data loss, and exposed networks.
Virtual Office Solutions for Hybrid Work
Alliance Virtual Offices virtual office solutions have gained a reputation as a vital part of hybrid businesses in 1400+ locations across the globe.
Meeting Room Rentals
Key among these hybrid work solutions is Alliance Virtual Offices’ meeting room rentals, which provide access to professionally equipped meeting rooms and office spaces with fast Wi-Fi, onsite staff, and various business services.
These on-demand meeting rooms are popularly used by businesses for the following:
- Occasional in-person team meetings
- Training sessions
- Meetings with potential investors, clients, and partners
Alliance Virtual Offices’ meeting rooms help businesses maximize virtual office benefits without losing touch with the physical essence needed to secure and maintain connections necessary for business growth and credibility.
Live Receptionists
As businesses transition or dive into hybrid work schedules, it’s easy to lose sight of one of the main drivers of business growth: satisfied customers.
A distributed workforce often means it’s harder to coordinate customer-facing aspects of the business, especially if it’s a small or medium-sized business lacking a concrete customer support team.
Understandably, efforts are usually directed toward business-building activities, and trying to juggle customer calls alongside them can be quite distracting.
Lots of hybrid businesses in this sort of situation strike a balance with Alliance Virtual Offices’ live receptionist services, which provide them access to:
Professionally certified live receptionists with specialized experience across various industries. Your receptionists will:
- Strengthen your customer’s call experience with professional and resourceful interactions
- Capture and properly document your leads
- Schedule your appointments and call-backs
- Attend to your customers in a personalized manner that reflects your business values
- Forward calls directly to you or employees who are best suited to attend to the given customer’s inquiry without disrupting your organization’s workflow with chaotic call-forwarding
Dedicated, 411-listed VoIP phone numbers with unlimited extensions that can be customized for your employees, irrespective of their location
It helps to note that this service comes with over 50 useful features that businesses can access for less than $50 per month.
In all, our virtual office solutions are helping businesses stay productive and ahead at a time when many businesses with hybrid work schedules are struggling to figure out the way forward.
Going Hybrid with Alliance Virtual Offices
Hybrid work comes with a lot of flexibility and financial benefits for employees, business owners, and managers. While these benefits are influential in sustaining employee satisfaction and overall business productivity, businesses are sometimes unable to access them due to various challenges.
These challenges mostly involve team collaboration and communication, which hybrid teams can fix with occasional meetings at Alliance Virtual Offices’ meeting rooms. Our meeting rooms are equipped to effortlessly facilitate virtual and in-person videoconferencing and collaborative sessions.
And where businesses are having difficulties coordinating customer service efforts locally or internationally due to a distributed workforce, AVO live receptionist service comes to the rescue.
Further Reading:
- Green Business Ideas for Eco-minded Solopreneurs | Sustainable Business Ideas and Trends
- Blueprint to Success: Crafting Your Comprehensive Business Plan
- Forwarding Calls: A Comprehensive Guide to Call Routing and Management
- The Customer Connection: Is a Live Receptionist Your Key to Success?
Put simply, Alliance Virtual Offices makes all the difference between struggling and successful hybrid teams.
Would you like to get ahead with your hybrid work schedule?
Contact us today for a free consultation and learn more about how our hybrid work solutions can streamline your business for enhanced efficiency and productivity.
