When it comes to the return to the office, one size does not fit all. There have been many starts and pauses and there will be more, but it feels like “the return” is gaining real traction.
Large tech companies have implemented hybrid policies requiring employees to work in their physical offices a few days each week. This has caused a range of reactions from anxiety in employees who love working from home to relief among employees who miss the comradery of human interactions.
What all sides of the ongoing debate must recognize is that getting employees into the workplace isn’t a one-sized-fits all endeavor. Every company will need a nuanced, case-by-case, flexible strategy that accommodates matrixed teams and can be easily adopted by employees.
The Living Lab is our story of how OpenSquare is implementing hybrid work and how we continue to learn what our employees and our business need from our physical space, our technology, and our wellness programs.
We've isolated out trending concepts from the wide array of learnings about organizational culture, workplace protocols, and individual behaviors.
Employees are less professionally fulfilled when working remotely or in a hybrid environment, but they're willing to sacrifice this for a deeper fulfillment in their personal lives
Managers and high performers are carrying the burden of RTO demands, making up for disengaged colleagues which leads to burnout
Remote work made us increasingly hyper-individualized, focusing more on individual needs than the needs of teams, organizations, or communities
Our spaces are where we gather, innovate, and learn... places where we can bring out the best in our people.
Our Living Lab research uncovered some key insights faced within our hybrid workplace. These can present difficult and almost intractable challenges as organizations look to their own hybrid future. However, we have some suggested actions that companies can take to help solve for these findings.
Serving the greater good is an aspirational goal. The job of leaders is to make it actionable.
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Unplanned, spontaneous interactions are necessary for organizational cohesion but the way we implement them can't feel forced.
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Team norms and rituals for communication, collaboration, and setting expectations may need a reboot for hybrid work.
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Hybrid work will move us further towards the trend of hyper-individualism if organizations do not intervene.
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Productivity must be redefined to include aspects of cultural connection, social belonging, and boundary setting.
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Working from home limits our experiences and hinders our ability to think creatively. Leaders need to inspire new ways to innovate.
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Are you struggling to implement a hybrid work strategy for your organization?
Contact +one, a One Workplace division, to explore ways you can help employees make the most of your physical space, technology, and wellness programs.
A deep belief in the why of what we do is necessary to drive our connection to a physical workplace.
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Many of our strongest cultural connections are formed by our sense of propinquity – simply being near each other and sharing meaningful moments together.
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Remote work has disrupted our team relationships and our shared expectations. Returning to the office offers an opportunity to reset team norms for a hybrid future.
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Remote work can create barriers between teams, driving them deeper into silos. Our return offers the opportunity to create more connections between and across teams.
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Returning to the office helps us remove the focus on productivity as a measure of completed tasks. Productivity must now be redefined to include aspects of cultural connection, social belonging, and boundary setting.
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Working from home can limit our experiences and hinder our ability to shape new points of view. Shared experiences and social interactions jumpstart the creative process, leading to new ideas and solutions.
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