There's No One-Size-Fits-All in Hybrid Work
Just like no two people are the same, no two workplaces are the same either. After all, workplaces are just collections of people. As we near the end of 2021, it's becoming clear there is no one-size-fits-all approach to hybrid and remote work.
Every workplace has a unique formula regarding decisions about:
- How work happens best?
- Who should come into the office?
- Who can work from home?
- How often to come in or work from home?
- Why these decisions are being made?
This hybrid work puzzle is one of the first, of many, ways we have to re-imagine work. Going forward, we'll be re-imagining work based on what matters most to the people we work with. Leaders have to pay attention to, how where work happens, can support people’s specific needs, preferences, and goals. It’s a call to really get to know people and what matters to them inside and outside of work.
Questioning & Re-Evaluating
The upheaval and struggles of the pandemic forced many to question and re-evaluate everything in the midst of so much collective loss. In addition, it showed people their limits and so often forced people past them. Many of us asked ourselves: What am I doing? Why am I working the way I’m working? Is this work I want to be doing? Does this work support my life?
Work is Getting Hyper-Personalized
In a twist we maybe didn’t see coming a decade ago, work is about to get hyper-personalized. This is partially due to the forces of technology, our economy, the pandemic, and the massive challenges our planet faces. This hyper-personalization happens as we reconnect with the value of what it really means to be human. In that twist, workers seem to be placing greater value on what it means to live a decent life. As a result, they're placing less value on the number of hours worked at the office.
Big Wish For Leaders
My big wish for leaders right now is to get back to smart organizational basics. How do we make solid decisions focused on purpose and values? Like other challenges, when it comes to hybrid work, we coach leaders to get clear with their teams on:
- What are we working toward and why?
- What does “good work” mean?
- What matters most to us here?
After that, engage people in figuring out how work happens, where it happens, and when. Find out what matters to people, and start putting together experiments to test out how you’re going to work best. Finally, critique every experiment so you can learn and tweak it to get it right. We’re all going to learn our way into hybrid work.
How you approach that now lays the foundation and sends clear messages about what kind of business you are. It lets people see what they can count on you for and trust you to do going forward.
Trying to Figure it Out?
Trying to figure out your unique approach to hybrid work? Realizing there is no one-size-fits-all in hybrid work, but not sure where to start? Whether you’re leading an entire organization or a part of it, we can help. Get in touch to talk about leadership coaching and people and purpose design work or book a call to discuss further.