Hybrid Employees Have Different Needs in Office

How and why people work has changed forever, making a return to the office a thought-provoking experience for employers and employees alike. A collision of varying dynamics between the new-found priorities of life and work and a fundamental shift in remote work techniques and new technologies, has left employers grappling with the best way to balance and meet the needs of hybrid employees.

Employees have had to adapt to a regular routine at least some days of the week while enjoying the social benefits of being back in the office. From the manager’s perspective, being in close proximity to team members provides ample opportunities for training, assessment, and an essential bonding process that must exist between management and employees.

At the same time, initiatives like the four-day week and the hybrid working model point to a very strong trend in favour of partially remote work. This means that employees are likely to choose employers who encourage and foster this style of working and companies in turn will need to cater for the evolving needs of a very new type of worker.

In this article we take a look at the characteristics and requirements of hybrid workers and how employers can match these for increased productivity and positive team dynamics.

What do hybrid employees really want?

Ideally, hybrid work should combine the best features of working from home with the undeniable benefits of being in a dynamic team based environment.

In a nutshell, this is what hybrid workers want from their employers but what does this mean in real terms?

The comforts of home at work – without the distractions

One of the biggest challenges of working from home is being able to focus on the task at hand without slipping into relaxation mode or letting family responsibilities get in the way of work.

• Some hybrid workers have solved this problem by creating a home office or dedicated workspace that’s both comfortable and isolated enough to ensure productivity. That’s exactly the type of environment they’ll feel most comfortable in when they return to the office.
• Office spaces should combine comfortable collaborative areas like lounges where team members can huddle together and formulate the next big idea for their projects, with dedicated workspaces where employees can focus on tasks that can only be done individually.

Understanding how many of these spaces you might need and what the ratio of collaborative to dedicated workspace will play an essential role in planning your office layout.

Knowing what type of hybrid workers you actually employ will help you do this effectively.

The types of hybrid workers

Not all hybrid workers are equal, and management experts have identified several emerging types, each with their own set of strengths and needs. The anchored worker, for example, needs to be in the office daily with an assigned workspace, while the untethered worker needs a more flexible environment that allows them to come and go from the office.

Understanding these types will help you to cater to them in all aspects of management, including your office layout.

The Pro About Town

This type of worker spends a lot of time outside the office doing independent tasks, returning only to HQ to collaborate with team members, submit reports and keep management up to date with their activities.

• • Examples include: sales representatives, recruiters, and on-site technical support and remote work or freelance employees

This type of worker may not need a permanent desk in the office, but they need to feel welcome and part of the team when they’re around. Collaborative spaces like an “ideas lounge” will naturally attract this type of worker as they take a break from their hectic schedules to connect with everyone else.

The Collaborator

This type of worker shares the pro about town’s desire to collaborate – and takes it several levels beyond. The collaborator is typically a team-based employee who does collective tasks and reports to management on a frequent basis.

• • Examples include: members of the marketing team, customer service, and operations.

The ideal workspace for the collaborator is social but professional. An open desk setup may be ideal for this type of team member as long as there are no cubicles involved.

The Quiet-Seeker

Some business tasks are best done alone with a minimum of disruption. The specialists that carry them out fall into the quiet-seeker category and coincidentally, they may tend to be more introverted than their team-based colleagues.

• • Examples include: accountants, computer programmers and IT professionals, and to some extent, graphic designers.

The quiet-seeker may value a semi-isolated space like a workpod where they can get on with their detailed tasks without any interruption – but that doesn’t mean that they want to be isolated.

Locating your quiet workspaces in close proximity to your collaborative spaces will give all employees the opportunity to focus quietly and then break out into a more social setting to share ideas.

Find the ideal commercial space to suit every team member’s needs

Returning your hybrid team to the office is a whole lot easier when you have an appealing, modern commercial space that’s designed with the needs of today’s workforce in mind. Contact us today to view our portfolio of modern premier office units in the Cape Peninsula.