The Future of Work is evolving quickly. “Hybrid” was the buzzword of 2022, but we know that what employees really want is completely flexible work. The hybrid model, an awkward blend of the “9 to 5” and “remote work” lifestyle, has served its useful purpose and created space for something new to emerge. It’s time to rethink your approach to flexible work, to bring out the best in your current employees, and attract the top hires in the job market.
The Past, Present, and Future of Work:
While offices everywhere are trying to get “back to work” or a “new normal,” SWAY suggests you throw out the old way of work completely. Our population has changed: we have new values and needs. Those needs are best met in a flexible workplace.
WHERE WE WERE
Back in 2019, the world of work looked completely different: hybrid was the outlier. The vast majority of office workers worked 9-5 or longer, with hours of commuting each week. Often, the employees who stayed late were rewarded, building resentment from those who got their job done within set hours and went home to pursue their goals.
We all know 2020 changed everything. When workers stopped commuting, they reclaimed those hours for their own health and hobbies.
But some things didn’t change: managers and employees still want to see the green light on Slack for long hours into the night. Some refused to acknowledge the difficulties of families during this time and expected workers to be available at all hours.
WHERE WE ARE
The Great Resignation clearly showed what today’s employees value: remote or hybrid work and flexibility. If your company had strict in-office requirements, they probably saw a lot of turnover through 2021-22.
But flexibility is still mostly seen as a nice-to-have or a perk on the list of benefits between a 401k and gym discounts, as leadership teams continue to drip feed access to flexible work like medicine curing an illness.
Employees are looking for, demanding, complete autonomy and flexibility.
WHERE WE NEED TO BE
At SWAY, we’re calling for Hybrid 2.0. This looks less and less like traditional hybrid work and more like full flexibility of when, where, and how you work.
Hybrid 2.0: Work, Personalized
Instead of work virtualized, we’re training teams for work personalized. Flexible work is empowering people to choose when and where they work in a culture of trust. It’s a personalized model of work with key differences.
EMPATHY-BASED TRUST
If you’ve been known to say, “It’s not personal. It’s business,” then you’ve probably lost a few team members over the past year.
The future of work relies on trust, not visually seeing the activity status of your employees or checking out their computer screens when you walk by.
When you trust your teammates to take ownership of their jobs, they are more likely to accomplish the work. And it shouldn’t matter when, where, or how they got it done.
INTENTIONAL COLLABORATION
Many companies have suggested a set number of days someone needs to be in the office, but they gave no instruction on how to structure those days. The result is people coming into the office to do work they could have done at home. Their teammate didn’t choose the same in-person day, so they’re on Zoom anyway. Instead of sitting at their home desk, they’re in their office cubicle. That commute was a waste of time.
Flexibility teaches intentional collaboration: you shouldn’t work in person together if you can do your job asynchronously.
PERSONALIZED WORK EXPERIENCE
The true definition of flexibility is a personalized work experience, allowing employees to work when, where, and how they work best. When you give your team members the opportunity to care for their personal lives, they’ll have greater energy and focus during working hours.
Executives may feel that this level of personalization and freedom is taking advantage of their resources. Instead of looking at flexibility as a perk that gets abused, treat it as the selling point to attract the best employees. Yes, you can have a thorough interview process to ensure your new hires have the ownership skills flexibility requires. You can and should require accountability (especially for new flexible workers). But ultimately, what matters is that they complete their job, not how they do it.
OUTCOMES OVER HOURS
In the old world of work, we viewed a salary position as a minimum of 40 hours, and your bonuses covered your overtime. This method may still be necessary for billable-hour jobs (consulting, law firms, etc.), but let’s change how you think about work for the vast majority of office workers.
The salary should reflect the job’s value: the amount of time it takes for the employee to fulfill that job description is irrelevant. Some jobs are seasonal (think accounting or e-commerce companies), and employees may work “overtime” to complete their job. But if they can do their job well the rest of the year, does it really matter how many hours it takes them? Does it matter if they stop during the workday to pick up their child from school or take their mom to a doctor's appointment?
This becomes a larger conversation on the value of an assistant role in your company compared to an executive. But when you demonstrate you value even entry-level jobs, you’ll be surprised how your employees take ownership of their roles.
“Remote work isn’t a perk: it’s a product” - Darren Murph, GitLab
As you attract the best, brightest, and most efficient workforce, you must remember that flexible work isn’t just a single sentence on a job listing. Your company needs to treat remote and flexible work as the product they sell to employees: it has structure, resources, and quantitative performance goals.
For years now, SWAY has been selling this product: we give you the coaching you need to transform your company into an effective, flexible workplace with happy hybrid teams. Learn more about our product (supported by data) by setting up a consultation.