The Hybrid Workplace Monster We Built by Accident

How the separate logic successes of hybrid working have unintentionally created a Frankenstein Monster that’s impacting connection. 

The introduction of remote working has had many benefits that can’t be dismissed. Commutes disappeared, and work-life balance improved. We discovered people could work effectively from home, and organisations saw the opportunity to reduce office space and significantly cut costs. It felt like progress.

Six years in, the norm of remote working has evolved to hybrid working, and with that we implemented individual perks and solutions that made logical sense - flexible hours, virtual meetings, digital collaboration tools, smaller office footprints, reduced property costs. However, as we step back and look at engagement surveys and performance data, it’s clear that these hybrid solutions stitched together have created a workplace connection crisis. Our very own Frankenstein Monster.

The interesting irony is that despite employee demand for connection, there now isn’t an appetite amongst the workforce to revert to full-time office work, meaning a new solution is needed if organisations want to meet employee connection cravings in a hybrid world.

In this blog, we’ll explore the unintentional implications created by a hybrid Frankenstein, why employees are resisting return-to-office mandates, and our approach to a new era of working that makes space for the connection and flexibility parallels.

The unintentional implications of hybrid working

The rollout of hybrid work and its solutions has created ripple effects across the workforce. According to Kahoot!, 56% of US and 42% of UK employees surveyed wish they had closer connections with their coworkers, with meetings viewed as a lifeline by 50% of US and 46% of UK employees, as they are the only time they get to connect with colleagues at all.

And this loss of connection creates a domino effect across an organisation…

• Knowledge that was once transferred through observation, conversation and informal interaction has become far harder to access. 

• New starters struggle to understand "how things really work" beyond process manuals and Teams calls.

• Employees can no longer overhear a conversation that triggers an idea.

• Quick, spontaneous check-ins between departments that - in the past – solved problems now barely happen.

Instead, complex problems are increasingly being solved through a series of scheduled virtual meetings rather than through connected thinking that emerges naturally when people spend time together.

The result is that organisations can become efficient at communication whilst becoming less effective at collaboration.

As a result, many organisations find themselves creating artificial moments of connection. 

• Mandated office days 

• Monthly collaboration events

• Team-building activities

• Anchor days

These initiatives are often well-intentioned, but employees quickly recognise the difference between genuine connection and engineered interaction. 

 

So, why don’t we just revert to office working?

There are many reasons we can’t just revert to pre-COVID ways of working…

• Employees have experienced and value the flexibility of working from home

• Many businesses have reduced office space and no longer have the office infrastructure to support all employees

• Organisations would lose geographically dispersed talent

• Physical environments no longer support the very behaviours the organisation is trying to encourage

  
  

We’ve evolved, and the debate should no longer be about home working versus office working. Instead, we need to focus on creating reasons for employees to come together.

The next generation of working

Relationships flourish because of shared purpose, experiences, and challenges – it doesn’t all just rely on having a shared location.

So, the real questions to ask are…

• What work benefits from people being together, and what work is better done apart?

• How can we intentionally design ways of working for collaboration, learning, innovation, and social connection?

When you start to understand this, you can build a way of working that not only suits your organisation, but employees will start to feel the benefits too (instead of feeling like they’re being forced back into old working habits).

Employees also have a role to play in this new era. Workplace culture (which supports purpose and connection) is built by everyone. Just as organisations must recognise the value of flexibility, employees may need to recognise that connection, learning, mentoring and collaboration are collective responsibilities. And the best way to get their buy-in and ensure that the new working era is a success is by introducing culture champions.

Relationships, culture and trust are not organisational services that can simply be provided. They are created through participation – and culture groups with representatives at all levels are perfect to tackle these issues – Culture is not done to the employees – they actively shape it. And these are precisely the capabilities that often determine long-term success.