With the mass vaccine roll-out underway, many organizations are wrestling with how best to transition their staff back into their on-site offices after a year of operating from remote locations. Already, big companies, such as Google, have adopted a new return-to-work formula, the hybrid work model.
An Overview of the Hybrid Work Model
In the hybrid work model, some employees work onsite while others operate from remote locations. PwC, a global consulting firm, expects the hybrid workplace to begin taking shape in the second quarter of 2021, so you could start preparing for it.
You are likely to be working from your onsite office three days per week and from virtual offices the rest of the week. Since many organizations will be adopting this model permanently, it is important that you prepare for the change accordingly.
When it comes to private offices, Quest Workspaces has your back. We have fully-equipped office workspaces in a location near you, and we are ready to provide top-notch services to make your transition to work seamless.
How the Hybrid Work Model Differs from the Flexible Work Model
But you shouldn't confuse the hybrid work plan with a flexible work model. While the former rotates employees in onsite workspaces, the latter gives employees more control over where and when they can work. A flexible work model allows you to choose whether to work from virtual offices, private meeting rooms, or in your onsite office.
The hybrid work model, on the other hand, has the organization choosing your office workspace for you. The organization sets the number of days you will be working from your onsite office and leaves the rest to you.
Flexible work models involve the following:
- Telecommuting: Employees split their time between working in the office, and from a remote location on a full-time basis.
- Remote work: An employee works full-time from virtual workspaces on a full-time basis.
- Condensed workweek: Gives employees flexibility over their working hours, and the number of workdays in a week.
The 30% Rule and Hybrid Productivity
As the hybrid work model takes shape, another concept has come to the forefront: the 30% rule. Here are the essentials of this rue:
- Group employees into two groups
- 30% to work in-office, 70% from remote locations
- Or 30% work from private offices, 70% onsite
- Modify 30% of your floor office to suit your team's current needs much better
- Resume onsite operations after 30% of your staff have been vaccinated
- Survey your team members after every 30 days to evaluate their performance
The 30% rule presents the best way for your company to transition to the hybrid work model in various ways. If your company plans to join Google and many others in adopting this model permanently, the 30% rule would be quite appropriate.
This rule lets you cut down on your overhead, creating more room for increased profitability. For instance, you could modify your floor space by 30% to accommodate the 30% workforce that will be working onsite.
Grouping employees into two and evaluating their performance on a monthly basis may also be key to improving performance. This is because it gives an opportunity to determine which section of the staff doesn't measure up to expectation, so you can take appropriate measures to help them improve their performance.
You can also keep switching between the 30% onsite, 70% off-site, and 70% onsite, 30% off-site, to see which formula works better for your business. This could help drive your profitability to the next level of growth, having established which combination best suits your organization.
Legal and Social Ramifications of the Hybrid Workplace in Light of COVID-19
But the hybrid work model isn't without legal and social ramifications, especially in light of COVID-19. As you prepare to adopt this new model of work, take the following legal and social ramifications into account:
- The number of staff in your onsite office – whether 30% or 70% - should be in line with government regulations put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
- Be sure not to sound discriminative when you group your staff into the vaccinated and the unvaccinated.
Quest Workspaces can help you adapt the hybrid work model with ease. We have private workspaces, complete with modern facilities, in a location near you for convenient workspaces for you remote working. Contact us for more information.
