Can we all agree that one thing which has made our pandemic less bearable is getting an alternative to work from the office? This work style benefited the employees and the organization in several ways. Say, for instance, employees got an opportunity to balance their work-life and organizations were able to introduce more remote jobs and diversified locations to work from.
Well, this was the case two years back since the pandemic started, but now we get to see more of a hybrid work style where both employees and organization can collaborate and work between work-from-home and work-from-office based on the business requirements and preferences.
The future of the work model is highly dependent on personal motivations and what is needed from the employee. So how can an organization facilitate employees’ personal motivation to work from home and office? Considering the organizational climate and culture, organizations are ready to offer an option to their employees to be able to choose between permanent work-from-office and work-from-home. How do we reconcile the need of employees for remote working and not running away from the office to go home and work? Why do employees prefer to work in an office setting instead of work at home? There are instances where employees are leaving the organization because of the requirement to work in an office and the difficulties in obtaining support to work from home.
These are the concerning factors that lead to a hybrid work model. This model was introduced by several organizations to have work-life harmony. This model gives employees an option to have both the work models without disrupting the business needs.
Let's take a brief look at the three work models in the following section.
Different Work Models
1. Work-from-home
The most popular model of work is the independent contractor, in which the individual focuses primarily on personal projects and activities. These can vary from working on their projects at home to consulting with organizations on important matters. The part-time employee, who makes up for the full-time job, also determines their working hours. This can depend on the careers of the individuals.
Remote jobs are growing since the pandemic started. This is one of the most popular but requires an opportunistic hiring process and effective management for the company. For example, companies should check the practice and safety of the company before recruiting.
Work-from-home is the focus at the moment since a lot of part-time workers are avoiding their jobs. Companies should consider this in their hiring process to find out if there are any workplace discrimination situations to avoid disaster. B2B is one of the most popular remote jobs, although some of them operate in a training capacity and are not working from home. Technology has changed how we work remotely.
2. Work-from-office
Work from the office is a concept that is catching on in modern-day society. Studies show that the best work environments are those that incorporate work and home. Having a balance of work and home life allows employees to have a more fulfilling work life, and the workday is less stressful. A work-from-home model is also a great option for employees who prefer to work on their schedule as opposed to working 9 to 5, but there are some drawbacks to this system.
Traditional work from the office raises the question of work-life balance time and again. Workers are expected to make it to the office every day and to stay late at times to finish on time. Working from home would alleviate some of these problems, but the employee must still be open to the possibility that the workday will extend into hours he or she would prefer to be doing something else. Employees tend to have downtime during the workday and thus, they can decide what they want to do and how much free time they can devote to recreational activities such as exercise, hobbies, or being with their families.
Working from the office is a good way to flex work duties toward meeting employees' personal needs while still ensuring they do the work they signed up for.
3. Hybrid Work
The hybrid work model describes a combination of the work-from-home and work-from-office model, which is expected to be the most popular in the not-so-distant future. The hybrid work model is intended for those who wish to work where and when it is convenient for them, but have many meetings and have to work on projects that require shared knowledge with colleagues and high levels of collaboration.
This model benefits the employees who are looking for a balanced work-life. Several challenges are commonly associated with the hybrid work model. The collaboration that takes place in a hybrid work environment is limited to the physical location of the organization itself. However, when working with remote colleagues, the compromise is a lower quality of collaboration and communication.
Throughout the history of information technology, these problems have existed, with only partial solutions. The problem of remote collaboration has always been a problem of its own, but not everyone can realize the benefits of access to quality information and quality collaboration which can be achieved with technology. If a viable hybrid work environment is required to meet the challenges of the twenty-first-century workplace, the solution for the long term will be an adaptation of the workplace and work to support the new work paradigm.
The infrastructure that must be created to facilitate this new way of working will result in the transformation of the computing industry, which is already underway. The essential elements of this new paradigm are a viable web portal, a computational architecture that recognizes the importance of social connection and communication in the workplace, and software that is designed around this new paradigm. As a result, organizations will be better positioned for the future.
Why Hybrid Work Model Is Future of Work Post-pandemic
The hybrid work model is the future because it encourages more and more people to work in an office where they’re able to combine being productive and happy in the same place, allowing entrepreneurs to face the challenges of the post-pandemic world without the stress of constantly having to stay at work.
The vast majority of the workforce is likely to be working in a hybrid work model in the mid to far future. Businesses will have to have the infrastructure in place to handle this demand. Innovation and competition will require workers to constantly move to support their companies. The economy of the future is better at creating demand and innovation than it is at creating infrastructure, so those companies and individuals will generate stronger demand than they will require. Work is the opposite of play; the more you play, the less you work. The world will become more post-modern and post-industrial, with workers being paid to work less. Individuals will move up the productivity pyramid and gradually lose relevance as services like startups and employee-owned businesses assist in the creative economy.
Closing Thoughts
While the human evolution of hybrid models of work, such as gig work and automation, seems likely, the future of the work model in a pandemic will likely be something very different—hybrid work, a mix of all three models. Organizations will continue to be places where workers will come together to accomplish special projects, and the freedom to work from home and work from the office will create a more human approach to work.
It is a mix of communal and flexible workplaces that will be structured around people’s needs as well as the business’s mission and purpose. However, people will feel empowered more through the use of technology in hybrid work and less through intimidation and fear.
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