Challenges Of Hybrid Working And How To Overcome It?

Working in a hybrid environment offers its own set of issues. However, leaders today must prioritize human connection.

According to Gartner, Inc., 90% of surveyed human resources leaders "believe that to succeed in today's work environment, leaders must focus on the human aspects of leadership," but only 29% of surveyed employees "report that their leader is a human leader."

So, what are the main potential problems of hybrid working, and how does a leader manage these challenges by focusing on the human aspects?

1. Challenge: Culture and connectedness

It can be tough to maintain contact with coworkers when working remotely. First and foremost, in this ever-changing landscape, work is a constant. As a result, leaders must communicate with their teams and employees on a frequent basis, using whatever tools are available. Be inventive in your communication. If you can't meet in person, think about methods to keep connected electronically, such as hosting virtual happy hours or incorporating a sense of humor into day-to-day requests and participation.

2. Challenge: Productivity

Figure 1. Productivity

It might be tough to create and maintain a productive routine when employees work from home. Aside from the essentials of structure, such as going to the office, it is critical for organizations to allow diverse divisions, business units, and teams to design settings that operate best for them. Future organizations will function as a cohesive distributed workforce that achieves results with fewer teams. A company-wide policy on the number of days spent at the office vs at home will not be feasible for every team in the organization. Productivity is determined by production rather than physical location.

3. Challenge: Effectiveness and efficiency

Managing your time and energy is one of the most difficult problems of hybrid working. With so many demands on your time, finding the correct balance when addressing things that have the biggest impact and sense of success can be difficult.

• Look for ways to simplify complicated processes and routines.
• Automate routine procedures to reduce staff intervention in repetitive and low-value processes.
• Constantly monitor and improve. Incorporate real-time feedback loops to discover what is functioning effectively and what needs to be improved.

4. Challenge: Balance and autonomy

Figure 2. Balance and autonomy

The blurring of work-life boundaries can have several negative repercussions for employees. It has the potential to raise work-related stress and anxiety. It might also make it difficult for employees to take needed time off because they may feel obligated to be always available. Employers can do a few things to help their employees maintain a healthy work-life balance.

Make clear distinctions between work and home. Employee well-being programs should be feasible, implemented, and committed to across the firm, according to HR and the leadership team. Many firms have launched similar programs with diverse components, yet employees continue to work long hours or are exhausted by last-minute requests, therefore nullifying the well-being initiatives. Make sure there is a culture that prioritizes employee health (for example, reducing a one-hour meeting to 50 minutes to allow for a 10-minute mental break).

Finally, businesses may foster a culture of respect and gratitude for their employees' free time. As an example, measures that discourage after-hours emailing or phone calls can be implemented. Employers who promote their workers' work-life balance create a more positive and productive work environment for all.

5. Challenge: Motivation

Concentrate on performance strategies that are team-based. Employees are linked to company objectives and priorities through teams. Many teams are disengaged from shared goals and a common purpose, and they are unable to provide constructive criticism, affecting engagement, productivity, and overall organizational performance. To address these motivating hurdles, executives must ensure that teams are aligned and performing properly, which will help firms achieve their objectives.

A variety of elements contribute to effective team performance. First and foremost, teams must have a clear sense of purpose and direction. They must understand what they are striving toward and why it is critical. Second, team members must trust and respect one another. They must believe they can rely on one another and collaborate well. Third, teams must be able to speak openly and honestly with one another. This includes the ability to conduct unpleasant talks, provide and receive feedback, and freely share information. Finally, teams must be able to operate together. This entails working together to solve problems and make decisions. Teams that are focused on collective performance are more likely to succeed.

6. Challenge: Constant change

One of the most difficult aspects of hybrid (or any kind of) job is dealing with change.

• Be open to new experiences: Change is unavoidable; thus it is critical to be prepared for it. Prepare for changes in your work environment and be ready to adjust.
• Be adaptable: Change can be challenging, but it is critical to be adaptable when it occurs. Accept that things may not always go as planned and be open to change your strategy as needed.
• Keep in touch with your team: When changes are on the horizon, speak with your staff and inform them of the situation. Encourage and engage feedback and suggestions in the process.
• Be upbeat and open to new experiences: It's easy to see change negatively, but it's critical to have a good attitude. Remember that change can bring with it new chances and challenges to help you learn and grow.

Figure 3. Constant change

With substantial changes in the way we work and the advent of hybrid workplaces, a new set of issues has emerged that can be tough to negotiate. Culture and connectedness, communication, productivity, motivation, stress management, and balance are some of the most difficult issues of hybrid employment. Leaders must help employees use the correct tools, promote connection, set goals with boundaries, minimize distractions, focus on well-being, and keep employees engaged through real and adaptable employee experiences to overcome these problems. Leaders must focus on the human dimensions of leadership to overcome these problems.

7. Our Hybrid Workplace solutions help conquer those challenges and create the best environments for people to collaborate.

The traditional office-first model has changed forever. A hybrid—or agile—workplace, is essentially a digitally enhanced space supporting hybrid workforces and new workstyles.

• Work is about what you do, not where you do it.
• We design, configure, and deliver digital workspaces.
• Enable your teams to collaborate effectively and get more out of their day, wherever they work.

Ricoh has been developing technologies that enhance how people work for over 80 years. The new normal has trend of the hybrid work. We deliver value with world-class services that complement our technologies to over 80,000 customers in the Asia Pacific region for decades.

Figure 4. Ricoh’s expertise

RICOH Spaces – Your Future Workplace

RICOH Spaces is a hybrid working solution which enables you to respond to changes in how people work so you can deliver a seamless employee experience now and in the future.

Bringing workplace management under one roof, it integrates activities such as desk booking, meeting room management, wayfinding and more retaining the best of the physical office experience and seamlessly combining it with the best of remote working.

Your platform to the future workplace, it unlocks the insights and capabilities required to adjust ineffective ways of working, improve collaboration, and reduce costs—preparing your business for how tomorrow will work.

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