Those who work from home have never had the unfortunate experience of long commutes and in-office late night overtimes. However, the rest of the workforce have their orders: return to the office. A lot of companies are on the hybrid work model, which could mean that some days, employees get to work from home but work onsite, most days. But the work from home experiment has proven that working from home can produce the same (if not more) output from employees. 

According to a BBC report there is a simmering tension between those who have been recalled to the office and those who are allowed to work remotely. Because of varying roles and levels within an organization, the very nature of the hybrid work model could brew resentment between employees who have their return to office orders and those who have the opportunity to work remotely and manage their schedule as they see fit. How can managers get ahead of the great divide?

Visibility:

Those who work in-office may be perceived as more ‘visible’ by management allowing opportunities for promotion or projects. It’s not just the free snacks or the office sponsored coffee, it’s also the ‘top of mind’ effect. The more management sees you, the more they’ll remember you for leadership roles. Hybrid workers feel excluded as they are not deemed ‘visible’. 

Balance:

The dreaded long commute is the top complaint of everyone who pushes back on the ‘return to office’ mandate. This wasn’t such a big issue when everyone was working on site, but now…

Having the ability to sleep in lieu of prep time and a long commute is just one of the perks of remote work. Then there’s the flexibility of organizing errands and chores and navigating social obligations that remote workers can afford to do vs. on-site employees. 

Social time:

Because of close proximity to one another every work day, on-site workers naturally form social bonds with those they see on a regular basis. They can leave their personal challenges at home and rely on each other for moral support or a mood lift. On the other hand, team members who only engage with their colleagues and leaders through a handful of email messages or via short, work related instant messages/chats can miss out on the social bonds and camaraderie formed through natural everyday conversation.

Next steps:

Managers should ensure that all employees are being evaluated along with the same KPIs. Make it clear (via a conference call, so that everyone has no reason to miss the announcement) that both hybrid workers and on-site workers will be evaluated the same way. 

Managers and employers should also ensure that expectations remain the same of hybrid workers and in-office staff. 

Everyone should follow the same career growth framework. 

Also, take advantage of technology and make sure that managers/ employers arrange time for social activities like regular online activities such as watercooler chats, trivia nights, office sponsored lunches. 

Has your company issued return to the office orders? How did your team handle it? Share your tips with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

Webex defines the Hybrid Work Model as: “a flexible work model that supports a blend of in-office, remote, and on-the-go workers. It offers employees the autonomy to choose to work wherever and however they are most productive.” This model is not new. In fact, a lot of companies have adopted this work model pre-pandemic. These were mostly small and agile SMEs who could afford to allow their employees the flexibility of remote work.

However, a lot of big companies have followed suit. One notable example is Airbnb, which announced in April that they are allowing their employees to “live and work anywhere—while collaborating in a highly coordinated way.” If you haven’t yet, here are 5 tips to make the business case around adopting the hybrid work model:

1. Set Expectations
If you plan to adopt hybrid work, set extremely clear expectations on deliverables and work quality. This is the time to use your KPIs and SLAs. Everyone in the company, top to bottom, must understand the level of quality expected of the work they turn in. Also, specific guidelines on allowable time for remote work. Make sure that these expectations and guidelines are communicated to everyone in the organization.

2. Be Ready For Pushback
Traditionally, work is done in the office so that managers can “monitor” an employee’s productivity. Therefore, one of the biggest concerns for employers regarding hybrid work is that remote workers will “slack off” or under deliver. But studies have already debunked this myth. Data has shown that even during pre-pandemic times, remote workers were 77% more productive and were less likely to be absent from work. While a huge part of the organization will readily embrace hybrid work and the flexibility that comes with it, there will be apprehensions re: management and collaboration. Open your doors to communication and allow everyone to voice their concerns through the proper channels. This gives employers the opportunity to alleviate worries and ease employee (or management) concerns.

3. Have Policies In Place
Your policies must be concise – meaning short, and straightforward, with little room for assumptions and confusion. Don’t let people guess what they can or can’t do. Your policy should be short enough that the salient points are easy to remember and just long enough to be able to provide some explanation for the decision. Focus on the benefits and don’t bury the policy in words. Take Airbnb’s example: “you can live and work in over 170 countries for up to 90 days a year in each location. Everyone will still need a permanent address for tax and payroll purposes, but we’re excited to give you this level of flexibility.”

4. Be Transparent
Be transparent with the company’s goals. Airbnb’s April announcement wasn’t just a move to adopt the hybrid work model but a key part of their talent management strategy. They were clear about hiring and retaining the best talent and their hybrid work policy was a brilliant and strategic move.

Has your company adopted the hybrid work model yet? What is your hybrid work policy? Tell us about it in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

The return to the office has brought about the trend of hybrid work where employees are required to come to the office most days and have the option to do remote work on some days. This has spawned the option of being able to hire remotely distributed teams. 

Distributed teams – where teammates are working from different locations is part of an ongoing trend. With highly specialized software making collaboration easier, it is now possible to work together from anywhere. However, for teams to collaborate successfully there has to be cohesion – everyone needs to be on the same page. When there is no organization-wide view into tasks and projects – silos will develop and that makes it harder to work together. Aside from teamwork, successful collaborative teams have the following values:

Clarity: Clear communication is of utmost importance. It is a given that not all teams will not agree on everything all the time. It is therefore very important to communicate opinions, ideas, and priorities clearly to reduce conflicts or and avoid misunderstandings.

Efficiency: Successful collaboration does not correlate to how much time the team spends together. Rather it is dependent on how that time together is utilized. Keeping meetings and catch-ups short, structured, and to the point help teams get their work done on time.

Positivity: It is also a given that not all team projects will go smoothly. It is key to instill the value of resilience and failing forward. Learning to shake off failure and to start a new task or project with a positive attitude make collaborations successful.

Trust: Successful collaborative teams place a premium on psychological safety. This term means team members are given a safe space to share their opinions and be themselves. They know that it is safe to contribute their ideas and unique skills. To foster successful collaboration, make sure to encourage sharing of ideas and that the team knows that their leaders have their best interest at heart and believe in their abilities. 

Accountability: Make sure that everyone is holding themselves accountable for their work. This means that everyone understands their part in the process and how missed deadlines and haphazard performance affects the tasks or projects as a whole. Isolate issues and offer support so that everyone can reach their goals.

Another thing to factor into teams is diversity and inclusivity. Studies show that diversity in teams (and your organization roster, in general) greatly improves an organization’s culture and the team’s performance on a project. Diversity helps brings an array of skill sets and skill levels. Add to this the fact that diverse personalities are great facilitators of a strong company culture. In order to create successfully collaborative teams, help instill the above mentioned values.

What values do you think are important for remotely working teams to be successfully collaborative? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp

According to Merriam-Webster, procrastination is a verb that means “to put off intentionally and habitually.” We don’t really need the official definition (but it’s nice to know). There are 2 components of procrastination – intentional and habitual. This means that we choose to display this behavior and it’s not something that just accidentally happens. When we intentionally delay a task for another task that we deem is of greater utility or importance – then that’s not procrastination. It is prioritization. But, when we intentionally and habitually delay a priority task for an easier, low-priority one, we procrastinate. That is not very productive. Escaping into an easier task might feel good for a while but procrastination is tiring. Having to be constantly reminded of the list of things to do that are left undone can drain our mental resources. 

Everyone procrastinates, we all do it. It is THE top productivity issue in major employee surveys. But if everyone has this problem, why haven’t we solved it yet? Here are 3 scientific reasons:

Temporal Discounting aka “I have 4 weeks to finish the report.”

This means we perceive tasks that are further away into the future to be of less value. We’ve all experienced putting off a paper that’s still due next month and crammed it into a few days (or worse…hours). Instead of writing a few pages everyday for a month, we subject ourselves to the stress of having to complete it the week before.

What to do:

Think of your future self and your present self as friends. The more responsible you are for your future self, the less likely your present self will procrastinate. Ask yourself if your future self will appreciate the fact that your present self is blowing off this high priority task. 

Irrational Avoidance aka “I don’t have all the resources I need to do it correctly.”

Procrastination always comes with a looming sense of dread for a task. We fear that we might do it wrong. But this is irrational fear. There is no silver bullet that will make you complete the task perfectly just because you waited long enough. 

What to do:

Confront your fear. Give yourself permission to begin right now (or whenever you’re due to start). Ask yourself how difficult would it really be to start. Baby steps go a long way.

Completion Anxiety aka “I will never get this room spic and span just like in Pinterest.”

The notion of having to complete a task is daunting and painful so we avoid it at all costs. More often than not, we inflate this fear and so it turns into a threat when in fact most of the time, these ‘standards’ are unnecessary.

What to do:

When faced with an overwhelming task, don’t think about finishing it. Instead, commit to doing a chunk of time working on completing your task. For example, cleaning comes easier if you commit to tidying up for 15 mins instead of cleaning it all up in one go.

What are your tips to combat procrastination? Share them with us in the comments. Remember to work smart and be a blessing to someone today. Stay safe and healthy!

Written by Jaie O. TheHelp