Opinion | Don’t like hybrid working? You may be doing it wrong
- Dividing time between two settings also means dividing tasks accordingly – into those easily done at home, and those best done at the office
- Doing so ensures that time is being spent well in both settings and arduous commutes to the office are only made when really necessary
However, managers often struggle with hybrid models, especially in guiding employees on what can be done at home versus what should be done at the office. Given that 86 per cent of all Chinese business leaders are in the process of adopting a hybrid work model, optimising this division of tasks is critical both for the success of individual companies, and the economy as a whole. So how can it be done?
Some might say it’s simple: just let rank-and-file employees and their immediate supervisors figure it out for themselves. However, my experience has taught me that employees often fail to maximise their productivity. It’s not because they’re lazy or deliberately inefficient; it’s just that they have never learned how to do hybrid work effectively, and don’t know what they don’t know.
Without guidance and professional development in this area, lower-level supervisors and middle managers in particular end up shoehorning traditional office-centric methods of working into hybrid settings. The result is lower productivity, engagement, and morale, harming company bottom lines and employee well-being and success.
There is one key filter for determining what to do and where: to maximise productivity, hybrid work models have to minimise employees’ commuting time. Trips to the office should be for a specific purpose that outweighs the significant costs – in time, money, and stress – involved in the commute.
