The last year has undoubtedly been a challenge for companies, professionals and institutions. As a society, we have experienced dramatic changes, difficulties and uncertainty, but in the workplace we have not been left behind. Many people have discovered teleworking and do not want anything else, but the reality is that, in the medium term, we will have to return to the offices. At least part of the time.
In this medium-term reality, which we will not call the “new normal”, the best solution is likely to be that of the hybrid workplace . That is to say, that the worker divides his work day between the face-to-face option and the remote option. The possibilities are enormous, although we can simplify them for this article: we will divide the week between going to the office and working from home.
In reality, “going to the office” refers to having a physical job, while “working from home” is just one of the possibilities of teleworking , which may or may not include roaming, and a host of additional options .
What is the Hybrid Workplace?
We have already discussed the basics of what a hybrid job entails in the previous paragraphs, but we are going to dig deeper. The key to the hybrid workplace is flexibility, the ability it gives companies to configure the best solution for at least each type of employee.
That is, we can find many employee profiles, and each one will have a series of tasks, obligations and methodologies that can differ a lot. This is better understood if we see it in the long term.
In the long run, there will be a middle ground where work environments will vary from one employee to another, based on their preferences and the requirements of their job. The work and the way it is carried out are vital to gauge how a person feels in that environment. For example, if we worked 100% virtual, not all employees would feel comfortable, or connected with others. Therefore, balancing the face-to-face and the virtual will be mandatory, but flexible at the same time.
All these characteristics and requirements of the hybrid workplace can be satisfied thanks to the digitization of the workplace . This, which may sound like 100% telecommuting, is actually something else. It means that the job goes where the worker goes. By having their workstation virtualized , a person can access it from their physical position in the office, but also from their home, while roaming, or from anywhere that has a data connection.
