Hybrid work: What problem are we trying to solve?

It’s been over two years since the last COVID-19 lockdowns in Australia. In all that time, corporate Australia is still uncertain about how to handle hybrid and remote work. Slowly but surely, the “new normal” is looking suspiciously like the “old normal”.

In November, the Fair Work Commission sided with employers that working exclusively from home was a step too far when it came to a flexible work request from an employee with caring responsibilities. ANZ put its foot down, tying bonuses to time in the office, and Amazon Australia has told employees they cannot expect a promotion unless they attend three days a week.

As a people and culture expert, “returning to the office” still dominates conversations I’m having with business owners and executives. When it comes to where we work, I think employers have been focused on the wrong thing.

Most businesses end up with a working-in-the-office mandate because they’re concerned that remote work means lowered performance, teamwork and accountability.

Human beings are social creatures. We do thrive from connection. We do work well together in person and in packs. Do we need to do that 100 per cent of the time to be productive? Of course not. Is it useful to be in the same physical space from time to time? Absolutely. The downside of the approach that many are taking is that it is not actually fostering performance, accountability, or connection. How many employees have begrudgingly trudged into an open plan office today, swiped their office pass, turned on their laptop, plugged in headphones and then spent close to a full day of work on video meetings (often with the person sitting next to them)? Two years into post-lockdown lives, workplaces are struggling to manage this “new” way of working.

We know that productivity looks different for every individual. The Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey found that while 42 per cent of respondents reported lower productivity at home, 24 per cent self-assessed as being more productive, and 33 per cent said it made no difference.

If you are concerned about whether your people are productive, it is important to establish what outcomes you are measuring them against. What data do you have to show you their outputs? There is always a better way to monitor performance than whether you can see them sitting at their desk.

I understand the attraction to a rules-based approach that clearly states the number of days per week that you are required to be in the office.

It is easy to communicate, has “fairness” written all over it, and is easier to measure people’s time in the office than their output. Here is the thing about a rules-based approach – when you start managing your workforce by using rules, you can be certain that your employees will do the same. While it is tempting to solve the challenge of hybrid work with a black-and-white approach, it is highly likely to result in a culture that centres entitlement over collaboration.

What I see in organisations that take this approach is dynamics where employees respond to invitations to attend a team workshop on a Wednesday with, “Sorry, that’s my work-from-home day.”

Once we put rules in place, then it logically follows that we need to find ways to enforce them. In my view, this is why we have seen the trend shift from “work from anywhere” to “three days in the office” to “consequences for not following the rules” with techniques like withholding promotions and bonuses.

We know from decades of research, summarised in Dan Pink’s book, Drive, that people thrive on autonomy, mastery and purpose.

Having worked with many businesses on their hybrid work approaches, my advice is to throw out the growing conventional wisdom and solve the problem at its source. What are the challenges for hybrid working in your organisation? What does your business value? What are the guiding principles used to make other decisions? Is it customer needs? Is it performance? Is it collaboration?

Give people a framework to make decisions (autonomy), explain why that framework is connected to your strategy (purpose)and make those moments of connection and togetherness worthwhile (mastery).

This is not an easy path for employers, but it is more likely to result in a solution that actually works.

Ellen Hooper is a people and culture expert, an executive coach and co-founder of The Growth Collective.