With the pandemic far from over, many employers are trying to figure out how to navigate remote and in-person work. As a result, you may find yourself in a hybrid role, balancing time both in the office and remotely each week. After working from home for more than a year, this may seem like a huge change. So, how can we adjust to a hybrid work model?
Set a Clear Schedule
Whether you’re in the office or working remotely, make sure to clearly define the hours you’re working. Doing so will make it easier for your colleagues to ensure they are able to connect with you when necessary. It will also help to prevent burnout. It’s easy when working at home to work just a little bit longer or to quickly log back on to check email later at night. But just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. Creating a clear delineation between work and home —even when your work is being done at home — will help you maintain work-life balance.
Create a Work Space that Works
After so much time at home, many employees have created work stations that are superior to what they had in the office. Chances are, you’ve designed a remote work space that really works for you, but does your in-office workspace measure up? Or maybe it’s the opposite and your workspace at home is less desirable. Since the hybrid work model is likely here to stay, make sure that both your office and remote workspaces are functional and comfortable. This may mean upgrading technology or finding a new remote space. Since you’ll be in person and remote for the foreseeable future, it’s important that both spaces work for you.
Respect Other’s Boundaries
It can be tempting to send emails at all hours of the day or night when you’re working from home, but keep in mind that not everyone appreciates receiving emails at 3 a.m. Understand that your colleagues may not be online as often as you are, and may only respond during normal business hours. Additionally, while some employees are going into the office, COVID-19 has not gone away. These days, many employees prefer to go in, do their work, and go home, with little interaction with colleagues. If that is the case, respect your colleagues’ feelings about socializing or spending more time catching up than you really need to. While you may be thrilled to connect in person, not everyone feels the same way.
Get Comfortable with Hybrid Meetings
With the hybrid work model comes hybrid meetings. Now that employees are going back to the office for some portion of the week, you’ll find that not everyone is in their own separate screen on Zoom or WebEx during meetings. Instead, some employees may actually be in the same conference room at the office, while others join the meeting remotely. This dynamic can sometimes be difficult to navigate (think side conversations between those in the room that others on Zoom can’t hear). Try to limit side conversations and ensure that everyone is involved in the meeting.
Remain Flexible
We are all still navigating the pandemic and the resulting work models. Try to be flexible. There may be weeks when you don’t go into the office at all, and others when your remote technology causes challenges. The hybrid work model is new for both employers and employees. It will take time to figure out exactly how to navigate the hybrid work model. Ultimately, though, the goal is to provide flexibility while remaining productive.
ON TOPIC
Mark Fairbanks, Ojibwe, White Earth Nation, is a lead test engineer in the Automotive Electrification Systems Lab at 3M Transportation & Electronics Business Group.
After nearly two years working from home, many people are adjusting to a partial return to the office. What is the key to being successful in a hybrid work environment?
Depending on your job duties, the hybrid work model can be a win-win for both the employee and the company. It allows more flexibility in people’s daily lives while keeping the needs of the business moving forward appropriately. I work in a lab environment that involves experiments and data evaluation. Thus, the keys for me to be successful in a hybrid working environment are:
• Careful planning and coordination of lab activities. I must ensure I have everything set and ready to go when planning on being in the lab. This could be sample material, fixtures, or even coworkers to support. My goal is to ensure that I can complete my lab activities on the days when I am scheduled to be in the office and crunch the data on days when I am at home.
• Creating an organized ergonomically correct office space in my home office similar to my company office (e.g. two monitors, desk, comfortable chair, etc.) allowed me to keep my screen time work habits similar in both locations and thus working efficiently.
• Lastly, for me working from home was too much time sitting in one place. In the lab/office I moved around much more, which kept me active. To break up my day when working from home, I started going for walks midday to relax or think about a problem I need to solve. This also helped me refocus when returning to my home office to work.
