Nurturing an Ethical Hybrid Workplace

The current global epidemic has definitely changed the workplace sphere — a digital setup became a must in efforts to continue operations. With the increased regard for remote and flexible working and assessing efficiency, employers are exploring new work arrangements. One of which is a middle ground between working remotely and physically — a hybrid workplace setup.

Read: Designing Your Hybrid Workplace

The Challenges of Making the Switch to Hybrid Work

By this time, you may have grown comfortable with the new structures and routines you have built while working from home. Thus, it is understandable why some would now prefer a digital setup over traditional in-person work. Despite this, there are still those who find it hard to define a boundary between work and life when telecommuting. While a hybrid setup seems to be the ideal compromise in this situation, switching to this arrangement can also bring some challenges.

Distance Bias

When presented with options, you may find yourself naturally gravitating towards what is easily accessible rather than something that may require extra labor. In other words, you are usually attracted by the convenience of the option nearest to you. This phenomenon — distance bias — can often be observed in the hybrid workplace context.

For instance, you have your whole team — both those in-person and those joining remotely — gathered for a meeting. When asking for ideas, you may unconsciously prioritize and favor those members who are physically there to discuss their ideas over those members joining remotely. Proximity has always been an advantage in a variety of circumstances which is why the adage ‘out of sight, out of mind’ has persisted through the years. Whether this behavior is within your awareness, these kinds of biases are inherent to being human.

Autonomy and Misalignments

Some perks offered by a hybrid environment are the extended autonomy and flexibility in the workplace which studies reveal to have significant contributions to employee productivity. Although this is the case, the question ‘when is there too much autonomy?’ may transpire especially in decision-making circumstances. After getting used to working alone, some employees might start making big decisions without seeking the team’s approval or opinions. Excess in autonomy may result in misalignment between those working remotely and in-person or a deficient sense of cooperation.

Employee Disconnection and Isolation

Do you find yourself facing the irony of feeling disconnected or detached despite the increase in communication applications you now use for work? You are not alone because this dilemma is faced by a good portion of the workforce today. The physical separation brought by remote working meant employees have to spend more time with digital tools to communicate across.

This physical distance from teammates apparently also impacts the employees’ motivation, satisfaction, and purpose. Creating hybrid teams can be viewed as a plausible solution, but if not done right, those working remotely may feel isolated even more, especially when a bond is built among those working in person.

How to Create and Sustain an Ethical Hybrid Workplace

A hybrid workplace can still be your best of both worlds when created and nurtured right. Employees are considered the backbone of any organization; hence, it is only fair to give them the flexibility in the workplace that they need. This can be efficiently carried out through the following tips:

Cultivate a conscious culture made for a hybrid setup

Transitioning to a hybrid workplace should not just stop at the level of individual employees. Employees need the support of the organization to effectively adapt to the new hybrid workplace culture. Organizations may craft new rules and guidelines that cater to the best interest of everyone — in-person and remote employees. You may begin by circulating surveys or assessments through trusted applications to hear out employee pains and suggestions.

Foster a sense of belongingness and empathy

Now more than ever, empathy should be promoted especially for those who will have to stay at home. Increased workload coupled with the possibility of feeling isolated might make work more challenging. In the face of a global health crisis that forces people to distance themselves physically, the optimal way of cultivating bonds and support is by empathizing.

Employee engagement programs can also be created to keep company culture alive and to help new hires feel that they are part of the organization.

Foster and promote DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion)

Since this would be a new setup, it is necessary to realize that hybrid teams would be dealing with diverse individuals, which may present a new set of challenges. One of these challenges may be providing equal opportunities to all members, whether working in-person or remotely, or having different levels of digital fluency.

Technology would be a vital instrument in closing, if not eliminating, the gap among all team members and mitigating any form of discrimination. Companies should identify which tools would best be used in integrating everyone, particularly in meetings where discussion and exchange of ideas take place. In this instance, acquiring a board management software might be practical in integrating your hybrid teams with its audio-visual conferencing capabilities. Thereby reducing the possibility of distance bias and allowing all members to actively participate.

Build trust through transparency and accountability

The past two years have proven that employees can be trusted to remain productive independently in the confines of their homes. Pertinent to trust is transparency and accountability, which can be achieved through proper communication. Encourage your teammates to provide updates periodically so everyone is on track. Utilizing tools that provide real-time updates and carry an audit trail function can aid your hybrid teams with your transparency and accountability initiatives. In doing so, you are also made aware of each other’s progress and can offer help whenever needed.

Embrace digital collaboration and flexibility

Collaboration used to be as easy as throwing ideas around while together in a meeting room. Now that the repercussions of the pandemic in the workplace might be here to stay, it is time to accept that new ways are needed to be adopted. Employ tools that are interactive and packed with features to brainstorm like a board portal. Some board portals offer live presentation tools that may help replicate in-person collaboration. As a result, your hybrid teams can get a headstart in easing into digital collaboration. In addition, you can also ask for process improvement suggestions to foster openness, creativity, and flexibility in the workplace.

Provide avenues for growth and development

While it is true that knowing all your efforts bore fruit to something purposeful is already rewarding it is still essential to recognize and appropriately compensate employees for their hard work. This serves as a driving force for some which keep them going at work. Rewarding them can be through promotion, an increase, or free access to training. Sending employees who decide to work from home to remote training may also lessen feelings of being left out and not receiving equal opportunities. Moreover, by developing employee skills, they become more efficient and equipped to deal with the demands of a hybrid workplace.

When employees are empowered and valued, morale and satisfaction increase which results in better performance.

The switch to a hybrid workplace has trade-offs. However, realizing which areas to prioritize may help tip the scale to your advantage, and employee satisfaction should be at the top of your list. To achieve this, procuring the right tools needed by your hybrid teams would be beneficial. With a board management solution like Convene, you can develop a successful and people-first hybrid workplace. Nurture your hybrid workplace with the help of a digital collaborative tool such as Convene.