World is gazing at a hybrid workplace as the eternity of work


World is gazing at a hybrid workplace as the eternity of work

A hybrid workplace is the most reliable way to work in current circumstances. Since worldwide going in and out of lockdowns many times in the past months, a regulation that consolidates remote work and office time balances individual worker's requirements with their talent to cooperate and be fruitful in a given phygital space is the future of work.

A Hybrid workspace is a place of work that blends two working styles, and the term can be applied to incorporate numerous concepts. It may refer to sterile office environments and areas where a proportion of manufacture, repair, or retail. The workplace can have "hybrid" perspectives, including workplace personnel mixture, automation-manual boundaries, and physical office layout.

Employees occasionally visit the office for collaboration and complete tasks mostly from home in a hybrid setup. The necessity for a flexible and resilient workplace amidst considerations of the third wave is also driven by employee mindsets.

The future of work: Can it ever be business as usual?

A year after work from home got off, few experts think that the pre-Covid office model may be on the way out, and a hybrid system will be the future of workplaces. They say this practice will be agile, experimental, and empathetic, supporting remote arrangements and only a few employees will be physically required in the office on specific days.

Indraneel Banerjee

Indraneel Banerjee, partner, McKinsey & Company (India), stated the plans for a future workplace were still a hypothesis and would play out in a couple of points. The survey indicated that average productivity had worked well in a remote setting. We have also realized that a significant number of roles across industries can be done remotely. Of course, candidates in positions that need collaboration, data, and IP security will be required to return to the office”.

He also added that 56 percent of companies saw the future as hybrid and while 75 percent of employees agreed with it. “In fact, 29 per cent of employees said that they would move out if the majority of the work moved to the office”. Employees wanted a more agile workplace with a degree of flexibility and self-reporting. He added that 44 per cent of the 5,000 people surveyed were concerned that returning to the workplace might affect their mental health.

ajay

Ajay Vij, MD of Geographic Services, Accenture India, said that the workplace was no longer a physical space but a mental place. To adopt a hybrid setting, industries need to approach who will come to the office and when. They have to figure out who will come to the office, how often, and their purpose. In the future, there may be even something between homes and offices, like a co-working space where people would need a secluded area to take a call.

Krish Shankar

Krish Shankar, group head, HRD, Infosys, said that hybrid workplaces would open up part-time opportunities, and HR policies would have to evolve with this. But the shift to a hybrid model may not be a simple one. It will have to address the challenges of burnout, blurred work-life boundaries, and mental and gender issues.

Shankar also stated that working caregivers were facing extra pressure, with the digital intensity of jobs going up and hours of relaxation decreasing. “Earlier, people got home by 6 or 7.30pm, switched off their work mode and relaxed. But now, that boundary has gone,” he said. “Organisations must give people breaks, time to address things at home, reignite the purpose behind their work and push them to increase their social networks”.

World is gazing at a hybrid workplace as the eternity of work

Subhamkar Das, Head of Data Center Business, Data Center, Sterling and Wilson says The world of business and life globally has witnessed a radical change in its landscape because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The sudden and almost meteoric rise in digital adoption, and the rapid transition to telecommuting and usage of remote working tools have occasioned a paradigm shift in the way business is now conducted across the globe. As a result, the unprecedented demand for technology-based solutions has, in turn, increased the demand for data centers to perform and support this transformation.

Employees to avail most salutary experiences

Employee

A hybrid strategy has encouraged many organizations to balance productive work with reduced stress and less commuting. The new workplace model provides more freedom and sovereignty to workers to work from the place they want. The freedom to work as per choice and autonomy has, in turn, increased productivity, culture, and community. The hybrid workplace should be Flexible, Inclusive, Supportive, Secure, and Adaptable for all employees, regardless of their function, work style, or device. 

Every employee has an equal seat at the table, despite being at home or in the office. They must have access to the tools needed for every kind of engagement, be it with internal teams or with external customers and partners. Organizations can also further support remote workers by equipping them with devices that can assist their work productively, just like they would do in the office. Devices like the Webex Desk Camera and Cisco Headset 730 would provide excellent audio and video experiences during virtual meetings and calls and reduce video-conferencing fatigue.  Organizations can manage these devices remotely for asset management and ensuring the latest firmware and security updates.

Companies planning to return with intelligent workplaces need to acknowledge the requirements and safety of their employees. Contactless, Digital signage, Automation, AI, and analytics can change how you operate, quickly respond to change, and reimagine how people work together. Intelligent workplaces equipped with fully integrated video collaboration systems by Webex can help you address all your work needs making meeting rooms come to life. Its features like voice-activated controls via Webex Assistant, compatibility with Webex App on mobile/laptop, and real-time notifications based upon sensors make it the ideal choice for collaboration and communication.

Conclusion

Building the successful hybrid model, companies want to invest in their IT infrastructure. Today's preference is not just business continuity but sustaining the new ecosystem of working from home, coworking spaces, and offices. The office will stay, but to accept the unique purpose of being the central hub for collaboration from office and home employees, technology must be upgraded and integrated to set the new standards. To ensure the constant running of daily operations, organizations must invest in IT tools that fit future needs.