How to support a hybrid work environment
Let’s get the bad news out of the way first: the hybrid work environment is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future.
That’s got a lot of managers facing challenges they never expected. Many people don’t want to come back into the workplace. People need different accommodations post-pandemic, whether for their health or simply because they’ve gotten used to picking their kid up at the bus stop every day. And the mix of logistical, mental, and emotional juggling required can make even the most seasoned manager want to throw up their hands and lock their office door.
But a hybrid environment really can work –– in fact, with some flexibility, it can benefit you, your staff, and the organization.
Here’s how you can support a hybrid work environment as a manager:
Listen, listen, listen.
This is the first and most important thing: if you do nothing else, just listen. People have a whole lot of thoughts about coming back to the workplace in any capacity, and a lot of them are scared, anxious, angry, eager ... anything you can imagine in the line of strong emotions. As a manager, your job is to listen to them and really understand where they’re coming from. And that’s it, to start! You don’t have to decide what to do in that moment, just listen. Really ask your people how they feel about hybrid work and why. This will help them understand that you care about what they’re feeling, and it’ll help you both find solutions for a pattern of hybrid work that serves you and your organization.
Offer as many accommodations as you reasonably can, and have a well-defined accommodations process.
One key feature of hybrid work (and post-pandemic work in general) is accommodations. While it’s likely you’ve always offered some accommodations for health conditions, you’re going to have to increase those to include wellness and personal accommodations.
Lots of people need different types of accommodations than you might have previously considered: many companies need to offer mental health accommodations because of trauma from the pandemic or simply have to be more flexible because people have gotten used to different timings in their lives. If somebody has gone to therapy every week from 2 - 3 in the afternoon, they’re not going to want to change that and be back in the office. Similarly, people have gotten used to being with their families in different ways. They like being able to drop the kids off at school, or pick them up from the bus stop, or even run their errands in the middle of the day. Do what you can to work with people, and create a well-defined accommodations process so you can quickly get people the help they need.
Along these lines, remember that you may need to change things up for the “new normal”. You may have team members who can no longer safely come in because they have compromised immune systems, or you may have people who have physically relocated. Ensure that you still have ways to include them by making your conference rooms AV-accessible, so people can work both in-person and at a distance as needed.
Look for core office hours
The old schedule of everyone coming in from 8 - 5 is almost certainly never coming back. So don’t try to force it. Instead, think about how you can offer flexibility while still getting people together for the things they really need to be on-site for.
For instance, you could agree that every day from 10 - 3 is “at work” time, or core office hours, where people agree to be in the office. If someone wants to come in earlier or make that the start of their day and stay later, that’s all well and good! But at least now you know when you can schedule meetings, and people can know when they can definitely expect their colleagues to be available. If daily hours aren’t a fit for your organization yet, then start with days of the week instead. For instance, Thursdays could be meeting days, and any work that needs to be done in-person gets done then. It takes a little planning, but it actually saves a lot of time and frustration when it comes to time-blocking work and scheduling the things that really matter.
Ease back in
Finally, realize that this is going to be a process. People have strong feelings about coming back to work, and we’re all still dealing with the aftereffects of the societal and work shifts of the past few years. So start slow and very gradually work up to your full hybrid work schedule. Even just having team lunches together for a couple of weeks before your official “start date” can be a great way to start.
The benefits of having people back in the workplace are so many, and I really do think things will get easier after we go through this period of readjustment. So take your time, lead with empathy, and know that things are just going to be a little bumpy as we transition back into on-site work –– but we’ll get there!
As always, if you like what you read here and want more support in developing as a manager, check out the next Manager Training Series! You can sign up for a free preview here.
Your turn
How is your workplace supporting a hybrid work environment? What tools or tactics are working well for your team? Share in the comments below or on our social feeds on LinkedIn or Instagram.