We Need to Expand Our Definition of Hybrid Work
I’m on the 41st floor of my company’s office looking down on North Wacker Drive in Chicago. Since I'm primarily based in the suburbs of Buffalo, the view of the city is a different, more energizing start to my day and I power through my morning tasks.
During my break, I see my colleague, C., who often works outside the office. We catch up on current events, how long I’m in town and what’s trending in business and tech. It feels good to see him in person.
Later, C. introduces me to H., a local candidate looking for his next career opportunity. We discuss his resume, experience and what he’s looking for from an organization before our discussion switches to culture, digital transformation, the economy, HCM, COVID-19 and hybrid work. Our in-person dialogue reveals more about H. than his resume or a Zoom screen ever could.
After the meeting, I head out and grab an Uber to a networking event, and check emails and messages that have piled up over the past few hours on my trip. It’s almost 4:00 p.m. in Chicago, which means most of my New York-based team will be winding down soon.
I arrive at the reception and bump into a Florida-based peer I met some months back at an event in Las Vegas. I'm grateful to catch up-face-to-face.
In retrospect, this two-day trip was one of the best workday sequences in the last few years. I spent quality time with my coworkers, felt engaged during conference presentation and made/enhanced connections with my peers in the industry. None of this could've taken place in my home or my office back in Buffalo.
To me, it was the best of hybrid. But not everyone would call this "hybrid work." And that, I think, is holding us back.
Hybrid Work: No One-Size-Fits-All Solution
If you search for the latest in remote work, you may assume hybrid or work from home (WFH) is a fixed, permanent feature of today's workplace. For example, a recent McKinsey survey revealed that 58% of respondents reported “having the option to work from home for all or part of the week.” Similarly, a 2022 Gallup survey found that only “6% want to work entirely onsite going forward” and that there is an “endowment” factor influencing expectations, with many employees who have worked hybrid or fully-remote now expecting permanent hybrid flexibility.
So if hybrid work is here to stay, as many opinion and research-based articles contend, why does it vary so much across organizations? Some companies embrace the hybrid model while others are pulling back in favor of more time in the office. Is it due to a cleaner separation between being on-site and being at home, or a belief that the quality of ideas and engagement is bolstered amongst in-person peers?
Among the remote work skeptics is Bob Iger, CEO at Disney, who recently sent out a memo mandating a four-day return to office beginning in March.
Learning Opportunities
“As you’ve heard me say many times, creativity is the heart and soul of who we are and what we do at Disney,” he wrote. “And in a creative business like ours, nothing can replace the ability to connect, observe and create with peers that comes from being physically together, nor the opportunity to grow professionally by learning from leaders and mentors.”
Similarly, James Gorman, CEO of Morgan Stanley, recently stated that employees can’t simply choose to work remotely, noting that "This is not an employee choice." Undoubtedly, Morgan Stanley and Disney are two large and influential conglomerates. Their push for a return-to-office environment may inspire others to do the same.
But I believe there will never be a universal standard for hybrid work because there is no one-size-fits-all solution — and that's OK. People of different generations, demographics and ages will want different things based on their stage of life needs and past hybrid work experiences. I would also argue that we’re not thinking about hybrid or remote work broadly enough. For example, hybrid for me — and millions of other employees — can mean working from home when I'm not in the office, but it can just as easily mean working from any of these other locations:
- Airplanes
- Airports
- Automobile (driver or passenger)
- Business events
- Branch offices
- Community events
- Company functions (e.g., picnics)
- Conferences/trade shows
- Co-working spaces
- Customer facilities
- Offsites/retreats
- Restaurants/coffee shops
Related Article: Minimum Viable Office Is the Future
The Value of Hybrid Is in the Vision of the Beholder
Many of us work across a half dozen environments every day, and for me, the value of the hybrid model is that I'm not tied down to a specific remote environment (like home). Instead, I have the ability to combine multiple workplace experiences to keep me engaged with my colleagues and productive in my work.
I’ll offer this example. On a sunny Friday last October, I began the day in my company’s downtown Buffalo office, arriving early to check emails and then leaving to meet with colleagues at a Habitat for Humanity house we collectively volunteered to help build. For most of the day, we traded in our spreadsheets for nail guns and our emails for real, live conversation all while doing some good in the community. The day ended mid-afternoon, so I finished my workday at home.
To me, it was the best of hybrid.
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About the Author
Frank Gullo is the Chief Technology Officer for Aleron Group. He has 25 years of experience in business and technology sectors, providing IT and technology leadership and strategy to executives ans businesses.
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