There is no doubt that the pandemic changed the world. For the employees who had to shift to remote work, working from home was partly a struggle, but it also came with wonderful benefits. After nearly three years of completely working from home, some workplaces have been gradual in their shift to a hybrid work culture for their employees. Some days, employees choose to work from home, and on other days, they choose to do the latter. Many companies have chosen the hybrid system because it allows their employees to come in whenever they’re really needed, thus saving time and costs for both workplace and employee. Since the pandemic isn’t resolved, this system also allows organizations to maintain safety protocols for their employees with only a portion of their workforce coming to a physical office for work. This blog will walk through tips to build a great hybrid company culture for your organization.
Help Employees (Re-)Connect with Teammates
Coming back to work can be an overwhelming experience for some people. But the beauty of the hybrid system is that it allows employees to reconnect with their teammates again as if it’s the first day of work all over again. Employees come into the office thinking that they will get to see their friends and despite their crazy workload, have a good day. According to Forbes, “the people we see most and interact with frequently are the people we tend to get closest to.” At work, teammates witness everything – the good, bad, and the ugly. An important element of a working relationship is proximity. Proximity can not only be physically seen but can also be perceived. The perceptive side of proximity is “feeling the presence of teammates” via a virtual connection. This is a great way to connect with employees that don’t live as close to the office space.
Ensure a Diverse, Inclusive, and Equitable Environment
Diversity, inclusivity, and equity are the pillars of any work environment, hybrid or otherwise. According to Salesforce, “it doesn’t matter where your employee is located (or their ethnic origins or gender), what’s important is their ability to deliver, to collaborate with the larger team, and contribute meaningfully to organizational growth and their own.” One of the key elements that employees look for when potentially joining an organization is a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace culture. This is not only crucial for businesses to succeed, but it is also imperative for creating positive work experiences for all employees. Focusing on this ideology shows that your organization is open to supporting the needs and expectations of all employees, no matter who they are. Diversity, equity, and inclusivity support a workplace culture where employees feel safe, respected, and connected. This can lead to a strong sense of community within the workplace. It’s always crucial to remember that employees need to feel trust in their workplace to stay and continue working hard for the organization.
Prioritize Work-life Balance
There is no doubt that life goes beyond the walls of work. According to The Economic Times, “the goal is to focus on the results, rather than the location or number of hours an employee stays online.” Employee burnout is absolutely real. LinkedIn mentions that “once employees transitioned into working from home, many of them experienced depression, anxiety, isolation, and other related mental health issues.” At the same time, working from home resulted in double the productivity and much better results from the assigned workload. Employees are normal human beings who are allowed to have lives outside of the workspace. Now that things are slowly re-normalizing, employees are starting to experience mental health issues again. This can be resolved by encouraging employees to take a break or go on vacation from time to time. Workplace socialization is a great way to ensure that your employees chose the right organization to work in.
Offer Flexible Working Hours
From a normal 9-5 day, standard work conditions have evolved into more flexible working hours. The idea is to allow employees to take control of both their personal and professional life in terms of when, where, and how to work. Offering workplace flexibility encourages work-life balance. A flexible employee can take on assignments and projects from anywhere and still put their best foot forward to deliver great results. The whole point of a hybrid system is to connect employees both physically and virtually. An example of this would be accommodating time zones for team meetings. Scheduling team meetings does not necessarily require teammates to be in the same time zone. The goal of the scheduling process is to simply keep the time zones in mind so that the whole team is awake at a convenient and decent time.
Focus on Professional Growth and Development
When employees start and progress through their careers, it’s important for them to have the support and resources to find and pursue professional development opportunities. Professional development means finding opportunities for growth when it comes to skills and knowledge in the working world. These opportunities can refer to continuous education or training programs within or outside the organization an employee works. Examples can include further studies, internships, networking events, self-reflections, performance reviews, and online certification courses. Upskilling is a crucial element to growth in an employee’s career. This way, should the employee choose to make a move upwards, sideways or to another company, they’ll have the requisite skills for such a move.
Assessing Effective Hybrid Company Culture with PxidaEX
As proven during a time of the global pandemic, workspaces are no longer confined to the four walls of an office building. Those employees who are able to are now slowly starting to get comfortable with working from home and coming into the office whenever they are needed. However, despite adjusting and adapting to a hybrid system, organizations still struggle to connect with remote employees. Luckily, PxidaEX is a great tool for this challenge. With our expert-designed What Matter Most and Work-Life Balance survey templates, employees can gather feedback and figure out what needs to be done to improve their hybrid company culture. Sign up for a free trial today!