BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Here’s Why The Hybrid Workforce Will Last

Following
This article is more than 2 years old.

In recent weeks, much has been made of the notion that the hybrid workforce won’t last. Having a mixture of remote and in-office workers, it’s argued, creates a two-class system. The in-person employees live in a world of trust and belongingness while those working from home face isolation and even missed career opportunities.

But there are three fatal flaws in that reasoning, and they explain why the hybrid workforce will last, especially for smarter organizations.

First, not every person is motivated by affiliation. Through the online test, What Motivates You At Work?, we’ve discovered that there are five major drives that motivate people at work; Affiliation, Achievement, Power, Security and Adventure.

People high in the Affiliation drive are highly motivated when they have warm and friendly relationships with people at work. They tend to be well-liked by many people and are often highly motivated when they’re able to work with others collaboratively. Obviously, these are the folks most likely to benefit from any belongingness that might accrue from working in the office. But they account for only about 32% of employees.

By contrast, someone with a high Achievement drive (about 30% of people) is highly motivated when there’s a challenging/competitive aspect to their work, when they’re able to completely immerse themselves in a task/project, and/or when they can deliver perfect work. Does that sound like someone who’s craving loads of face-to-face interaction?

Second, in your office, what percent of time do people spend working in isolation versus the time they spend collaborating? Think back to when everyone was working in the office. How many people were plugging away with their doors closed? If you have an open-office plan, how many people were wearing headphones to block out distractions from their coworkers?

Of course, the amount of time people spend working in isolation will vary wildly from company to company. But it’s a critical factor to consider when you’re evaluating the best work model for your company. It’s not hard to imagine how employees might be more productive with a few days a week working from home. This, in turn, would reserve their in-person time for actually collaborating and, perhaps, make that collaboration far more fruitful.

Third, how good is your corporate culture, really? The Leadership IQ study Employee Engagement Is Higher For Low Performers In 42% Of Companies found that sometimes cultures are really bad for high performers.

Think about a company where no good deed goes unpunished. The more a high performer volunteers to help out, the more useless meetings to which they get assigned. The more agreeable they are, the more work gets dumped on their desk.

If some of your high performers feels similarly, does forcing them into the office seem like a great way to keep them engaged? A better approach would be to ask them what type of working arrangement best fits their life, job and motivations. Yes, that would require a bit more work on the part of managers and human resources, but in most companies, high performers are more than worth that effort.

Finally, in a new study called Virtual Training Is Here To Stay, we discovered that only 34% of people are totally comfortable with in-person indoor training (preferring virtual training). That speaks to a fairly high level of anxiety still plaguing the majority of employees. That unease may subside over time, but it’s tough to predict when that will happen. And in the meantime, are people really going to be more productive in an office when they’re anxious about their safety?

I understand the desire for broad pronouncements and definitive projections, but the reality is that organizations and employees are complex. The pandemic has forced many companies to recognize that complexity, and the hybrid workforce is one solution to creating potentially more enjoyable careers for many.

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website or some of my other work here