A disconnect between remote workers can undermine your team’s dynamic and workplace culture. We look at how hybrid can bring happiness and cohesion to dispersed teams.

Businesses of all shapes and sizes are rethinking their operations at the moment. They’re trimming procedural fat while also scaling down unnecessary costs. Political tumult, global conflict and, of course, health crises have made for an uncertain future in which companies need to be agile. As such, many are rethinking arrangements with their current workspaces and embracing hybrid working solutions.

A well-executed hybrid system, giving employees independence while also enabling in-person collaboration at office HQs and flexspaces, can ensure dispersed teams stay in harmony.

On the other hand, companies who do not adapt to these modern ways of working run the risk of employee dissatisfaction. For one, workers will resent the lack of freedom they have been used to since working through the pandemic, while distrust can grow between teams who are not given the tools and workspaces to be able to collaborate effectively with one another.

Let’s take a look at how forward-thinking, hybrid-first companies can ensure employee morale and productivity can remain high, no matter where their workers are located.

No more stressful commuting

Having spent the duration of the pandemic working from home, it’s easy to see why many workers are reluctant to return to commuting. Commuting can be stressful, time-consuming and a drain on energy and enthusiasm – not to mention the associated costs.

A hybrid system enables workers to keep the reduced commuting time they now cherish. With the option of working from home or taking a short journey to a local flexspace, employees are not tied to a desk at the office HQ and required to travel there everyday. The ‘stressed commuter’, who most of us have been able to identify with at some point in our careers, can now be a thing of the past.

Speaking on a panel at the recent Economist Innovation@Work US Summit, Fatima Koning, Group Chief Commercial Officer for IWG, emphasised the game-changing effect of the local flexspace in reducing the commute.

“Some of us are asking: ‘Why should we be commuting for longer than 15 minutes every single day of the week?... It should be possible for us to access high-quality workspace within a 15-minute drive, or a short walk or bike ride.’”

Keeping team members together

With a dispersed team, it’s vital that nobody feels excluded or out of sync with their colleagues. A key characteristic of hybrid is that while workers have the flexibility to work where and how they want, the infrastructure is in place to facilitate face-to-face collaboration too, ensuring teams stay united and cohesive.

By scheduling office days at flexspaces or the company HQ, people can still spend time in the same building for a certain period of time, allowing the all-important impromptu meetings, spontaneous water-cooler chats and after-work events to take place – enhancing bonds between team members.

Where do some businesses go wrong?

Without clear and specific guidance around hybrid work, it’s easy to see how some employees are denied the opportunity to shape their own flexible work routine and collaborate with teammates in a fulfilling way.

Discord between distributed workers can be attributed to:

 ● Lack of clear policy for who can work remotely and why

 ● Inconsistent contact with remote employees leading to a risk of opportunity loss

 ● Teams spending too little time together, placing strain on social bonds

 ● Teams being unclear which tasks should be managed in-office, and which can be managed remotely

Staying on the right path

Proactive leadership can maintain satisfaction among individual employees and collective harmony between teams. Companies stand a much better chance of unifying their workforce and creating a strong sense of equitability if they:

 ● Invest in training and development for employees which is available on and off site

 ● Make sure employees feel empowered to work the way they want

 ● Invest in their hybrid operations, with employees given the technology and facilities to be able to work from home, HQ and local flexspaces

The variety offered by hybrid provides employees with the best of all worlds. It helps to bring teams together while still allowing them independence, flexibility and autonomy.

As a result, the approach has proven popular among workers. A 2021 PwC Remote Work Study revealed that 87% of employees favoured hybrid working, and 69% of companies planned to incorporate hybrid into their future working landscape.

With teams able to spend more time together, hybrid reduces the risk of ‘FOMO’ and distrust. Workers can share more similar work patterns and opportunities, completing discrete tasks at home while getting together with the team to meet and collaborate in office spaces. This combination promotes bonding, trust, understanding and teamwork, helping dispersed employees feel satisfied and part of a whole.

Regus’ office and meeting facilities, at convenient locations all over the country, can help you and your team embrace the hybrid revolution. With business-grade tech, super-fast Wi-Fi, and flexible arrangements built around your needs, we can help you build an infrastructure for a happier, healthier and more united workforce.