What does hybrid working actually mean? And why hybrid working isn’t the same as remote working?

New World - New Needs

Confused with terms: ‘agile’, ‘flexible’, ‘remote’ working? And recently also trending ‘hybrid working’. These expressions are used to describe the opposite to the traditional office working model. However, they should not be used interchangeably as they mean different things. The main cause of this muddle is the common denominator of working outside of the office. Here’s Holistica’ blog note, answering: What is the hybrid model? What is the difference between hybrid and remote working? And what are the key components of a hybrid working model?

Traditional model - work at the office.

Traditional ‘nine to five’ in the office where employees come to work at their own desk, to meet their team and progress with their daily activities. There are two key characteristics of this model (1) mandatory presence in the office (2) within mandatory working hours. Management style is presence-based, not outcome-based and employees’ performance assessment considers aspects such as punctuality and overtime.

Remote Working - work outside of the office.

Remote working is when employees are working outside of the office space and often outside the office hours. It can be from home, a coffee shop or even a beach (i.e. digital nomads). Many of the remote workforces adapt to working hours of their payers. The key characteristics are (1) lack of mandatory presence in the office and (2) no fixed working hours. Management style is outcome-based and physical presence doesn’t matter. The work performance is based on results and quality of work.

Hybrid Model - best of two models plus a little bit of ‘magic’

Remote working is here to stay, so is the office. The hybrid model focuses on creating a workspace that works for the organisations, their people and their clients whilst preserving the company’s culture. In the hybrid model, it doesn’t matter where you are but what you do. Being part of an organisation, the employee goes to the office to meet collegues, works remotely when the physical presence is not required and fulfils duties in the digital workspace where all tools and resources are accessible from anywhere. The hybrid model is composed of (1) a set of rules an organisation is going to adapt to balance remote and office work, usually that would be social contracts, HR policies and good practices or etiquettes (2) digital workspace composed of collaborative and audiovisual tools as well as in-office technologies supporting visibility and resources sharing and last but not least (3) physicals office spaces supporting creativity, collaboration and social interaction such as focus booths, break out areas and collaboration zones as well as the meeting room and desks but turned into shared resources.

A good design doesn’t happen by chance!

Holistica partners with architects, interior designers and technology suppliers to ensure that the hybrid model is designed from the very start bringing together collaborative tools and workspaces.

Let’s talk about what we can do for you.

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