Hybrid work – heard it a thousand times before?!

What am I actually doing here?

Hybrid working is here to stay. In so make premises, offices are being adapted to the new situation and changing needs. Innovative office concepts with flexible workplaces are waiting to be “populated” in a new way.

But spaces alone do not initiate cultural change. It is not much fun and morale suffers when employees sit in half-empty “office communities”, when meetings are reduced to table rounds due to a lack of participant presence and when the coffee kitchen is deserted as the last refuge.

The spatial redesign is certainly an important step in the context of hybrid working. But it’s even more important to look at the cultural change that accompanies it. What suits the home office work environment, what suits the office way of working? How do the employees feel about “taking in” and using the new space? How do they find their way in an open space world, in soundproof boxes for online meetings or idea labs and creative zones?

Instruction manual for hybrid working – 5 tips

A culture shift towards hybrid working needs internal communication to help and support it in order to maintain employees’ sense of belonging to the company and to establish the increased value of collaboration in presence.

Tip 1: Inform employees

In a home office, you work in your personal environment, but you are alone. In the office there is no room for private “decoration”, but instead you meet colleagues. This “alternating bath” deserves friendly and understanding mediation and assistance.

Tip 2: Be specific

We like to use storytelling for this. Give an example of a daily routine and communicate what could make sense where. I can sit at the computer at home, but an exchange with colleagues in a workshop – that only works in the office.

Tip 3: Visualize attractively

Make your information attractive. Carefully choose the approach and reflect the aspiration that should characterize hybrid working.

Tip 4: Experience spaces in a new way

A creative space does not automatically make you more creative. Give your employees ideas on how to perceive a space (omnocentric perspective) and how to make it their own (egocentric perspective).

Tip 5: Use the time of presence

Use the time of presence for a form of togetherness. In an increasingly complex world, flexibility is needed – mentally, socially and physically. Introduce a work culture where employees can innovate, make decisions and take responsibility. You will unearth true treasures.

What’s the next step?

For a personal consultation, feel free to contact me at any time.

Mirja Ng-Metzker

Client Relations Manager