How to get hybrid working right

Hybrid working isn’t a policy, it’s a ‘philosophy’, according to head of HR at Haleon ANZ, Abby Krauce. She joined The HR Leader to discuss hybrid working and how to get it right.

“We know that we can all work successfully face to face and we know that we can all work successfully remotely. So, what we now need to do is to experiment and understand how we can make ‘hybrid’ work for everyone,” said Ms Krauce.

“We know for our culture it’s really important that we do have face to face because we had our company events… that connection is really important. But we also know that we really value the flexibility with hybrid work as well.”

Ms Krauce notes that keeping a balance is a good way for a business to cater to different employees’ work styles. With some thriving in the office and others at home, letting staff decide for themselves and reserving office days for when necessary may increase productivity.

Ms Krauce explained: “It’s all around balance … it’s really important for all parts of our life to fit together and work together. So, we know that everybody has different needs and has different lives and those change from time to time.”

Giving employees the freedom to choose what works best for them is an effective way to maximise productivity and workplace happiness, says Ms Krauce.

“I often say to our people, ‘you know you much better than I know you, so let’s start there, and let’s understand what would make hybrid work for you.’ And then we try and experiment with that. We don’t have a policy, we have a philosophy around hybrid work and we’re really open to have those really good conversations with people,” she said.

“We really focus on that, not having a policy, let people work out what flexibility works for them. Have conversations, be prepared to experiment and be prepared to change,” said Ms Krauce.

Author and hybrid work mentor Gleb Tsipursky says that boundaries need to be set up in order to get hybrid working right. Setting clear expectations for employees can ensure they don’t feel isolated and can help set work-life boundaries to reduce burnout.

Dr Tsipursky said in an article for Fortune: “For working at home and collaborating with others, there’s an unhealthy expectation that once you start your workday in your home office chair, you’ll work continuously while sitting there (except for your lunch break). That’s not how things work in a physical office.”

He added: “By setting clear expectations and boundaries, you’ll address the biggest well-being challenge for remote and hybrid workers: work/life boundaries.”

The transcript of this podcast episode, when quoted above, was slightly edited for publishing purposes. The full conversation with Abby Krauce is below.