We know hybrid work arrangements are likely to stay even as the pandemic tapers off.
73% of employees from a global survey said they want flexible work arrangements to stay after the pandemic. In addition, 77% of remote workers report greater productivity while offsite and 30% get more done in less time. 63% of executives also think 3 days onsite and 2 days offsite is optimal.
Challenges with Hybrid + Remote Work
However, long-term hybrid + remote work poses new challenges. Look at this checklist and rate the extent to which it impacts your team or organization:
| Challenges with Hybrid + Remote Work | Rate impact on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being most challenging |
|---|---|---|
1 | Struggles with work-life balance with blurring lines between work and personal life | |
2 | No or limited access to resources from home | |
3 | Difficulties communicating and collaborating with managers/ colleagues | |
4 | Reduced engagement and supervision when employees are remote | |
5 | Fear of “out of sight, out of mind” bias with remote workers fear losing out in career growth | |
6 | Difficulty in building trust and relationships, especially without prior relationships | |
7 | Challenge in building culture and sense of belonging with the organization | |
New challenges just mean it's time to develop new skills or improve our existing skills.
Skills to Thrive in Hybrid + Remote Work
In the world of hybrid + remote work, we need to be virtual first - to be proficient and effective in a virtual environment first. What skills do professionals and managers need to be equipped with? Rate the extent to which your people are skilled.
| Skills to Thrive in Hybrid + Remote Work | Rate skill level, 1 to 10, with 10 as most skilled |
|---|---|---|
| For All Professionals | |
1 | Virtual communications and presentations | |
2 | Connecting and building relationships virtually | |
3 | Collaborating in the virtual space | |
4 | Maintaining boundaries and healthy balance | |
| For Managers | |
1 | Support employee well being | |
2 | Connect, engage, motivate and retain people with limited contact time | |
3 | Build a high performing hybrid team | |
4 | Conduct performance management virtually | |
5 | Facilitate effective virtual meetings that enable inclusion and collaboration | |
How do you or your team fare? Love to hear your comments below!
It's been quite a while since COVID descended upon us. It's high time to be skilled in a changing and uncertain environment. Even if we were to go back to partial face-to-face engagements, having skills to be effective in this hybrid + remote world of work will serve ourselves and our organizations in the long run. Afterall, the world could be moving in the direction of metaverse - live 3D digital environment, think Iron Man swiping multiple apps and expanding screens in the air. Who knows what this trend might bring!
Written by Wendy Tan
- Author, Keynote Speaker & Managing Partner of Flame Centre | Future Skills Institute
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