Abstract

Love it or hate it, remote work is here to stay—particularly now that many people have experienced it for themselves and have no intention of giving it up. However, many employers are going to want their employees back in the office to some degree. How can a balance be struck between these two sides? We posit that a hybrid work environment will play a role.

How Does a Hybrid Work Environment Work?

Picture the workplace for a moment. Chances are, you either see the average office, or you see someone working from home. Hybrid work is the compromise between the two. An employee working in a hybrid environment splits their time between home and in-house.

In this way, employees have the freedom to work from the comfort of home, going into the office as needed for meetings and other responsibilities that the workplace requires. 

How Can You Make a Hybrid Workplace Work?

The big challenge to implementing a hybrid workplace is striking the right balance between the desired flexibility your employees seek while also ensuring that you, the employer, get the in-house time from your employees that you seek from them.

The trick to successfully creating a hybrid workplace is to put remote work in the driver’s seat—because if it can be done remotely, it can certainly be done in-house, but not necessarily the other way around. After all, most in-house systems are designed to be used in-house, whereas remote work provides the capability to work either remotely or in-house.

You will also want to ensure that your office has the necessary accommodations to allow all of your workers to come in and work as needed. Some businesses will implement desk reservations systems, where employees can call dibs on a desk for the days they plan to come in. On the topic, you also need to make sure that your employees all have access to the technology that they need for their tasks while working in the office. Providing this access will ensure that your employees can work wherever they happen to be located.

Technology Shouldn’t Be a Sticking Point for Your Business

In order for hybrid work to, well, work, the right technology needs to be in play. This can be a lot to manage and arguably overwhelming for many, but you don’t have to go it alone. We’re here to help you adopt what you need to in order to put remote or hybrid work in place. Learn more by reaching out to us at 888-748-2525.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Hybrid Work Isn’t Challenging to Adopt with the Right Preparations

Rafiq Masri

With over 25 years of experience in Information Technology, Rafiq is one of the most accomplished, versatile and certified engineer in the field. He has spent the past 2 ½ decades administering and supporting a wide range of clients and has helped position Network Management, Inc. as a leader in the IT Managed Services space.

Rafiq has built a reputation for designing, building and supporting top notch IT infrastructures to match the business objectives and goals of his clients.

Embracing the core values of integrity, innovation, and reliability, Rafiq has a very loyal client base with some customer relationships dating back 20+ years.

Rafiq holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and has completed graduate programs in Software Engineering and Business at Harvard and George Mason University. Rafiq is a former founder and CEO of Automation, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan as well as a valued speaker on entrepreneurship and technology at industry events such as ExpoTech and others.