Remote work has become a linchpin for organizations today to keep business running

In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the business work style has changed entirely. The epidemic has prompted people around the world to combine remote and in-office working. Previously, organizations have been loath about allowing employees for remote work. But the current world situation has made it a necessity. This fusion of remote work and in-office working is giving the rise to a new working model, hybrid work, where an employee can work from the home, office, or anywhere.

While work from home is a new economy now, according to a survey, 55% of workers in the U.S. want a blend of home and office working. However, many companies have allowed their employees to continue working remotely until at least 2021, as it is a critical weapon in tackling the pandemic.

Hybrid work models will significantly let organizations better acquire talent pool, accomplish innovation, and create value for stakeholders. This work arrangement also enables companies to potentially shift workloads to diverse directions, remote and in-office working. Hybrid work can define a future of work that is more flexible, digital and purposeful while bolstering employee productivity and satisfaction.

Understanding Hybrid Work

As hybrid work enables employees to work from anywhere, it tends to involve more freedom around when to work and where. It splits workloads between workers working remotely and in-office. In a recent Salesforce survey, 64% of workers want to work from outside the office and another type of workplace, as opposed to working entirely remotely. It also found that the Gen-Z workforce is more interested in the hybrid work model as 74% of Gen-Z are likely to prefer either working from home or splitting time at home and work. Conversely, 64% of the respondents like to spend some time working from an office or location outside of their homes.

The hybrid workplace emphasizes productivity, redefining the measurement of employee performance. Like in-office working, remote working puts responsibilities on individuals who are directly accountable for a particular project.

Recently, Infosys announced it will prefer a flexible hybrid work model in view of uncertainty around the pandemic situation and allow employees to work from home or office depending on the condition. According to the company CEO and Managing Director Salil Parekh, the company has developed a flexible model to facilitate work from home but it is now time to start working on building social capital.

This working approach is lessening the number of headcounts at the office, enabling the reduced cost of operations as employers are finding themselves in need of less workspace. With the hybrid model, employees will need to spend less time and money on commuting, eventually increasing the productivity and time to focus more on work.

The hybrid approach also brings a set of challenges. For instance, workers split between home and office are already finding it hard to manage their personal and professional life. It also fosters employee isolation as employees go away from each other focusing on their tasks. In this working environment, cybersecurity is also a crucial concern. Most employees working remotely use local internet connectivity so that this could open access to cybercriminals to breach data. To avoid such threats, both companies and employees must secure their digital footprint through continuous software updates and multi-factor authentication.