Leaders And The New Hybrid Workplace Challenges

Author: Aodan Coburn

14.04.2022

The Microsoft Work Trends index report was released in Europe last week and makes for some interesting reading.

Amongst the highlights were...

One third of hybrid workers struggle to disconnect outside work hours and one quarter feel removed from the company culture and senior leadership.

44% of workers agreed it was harder to build trust in a remote hybrid environment, with a third indicating that their team culture had deteriorated.

36% of hybrid workers said they felt lonelier.

There was however some positive feedback on the use of online meeting platforms, with 36%, stating that they found them more inclusive.

Although the research was only carried out across 600 workers, the trends are striking and speak to the need to provide ongoing support for hybrid employees.

It's clear that leaders now need to evolve their practices in response to the changing workplace.

At a minimum, this includes increasing visibility and continuously interacting with their employees, especially in terms of defining norms and the evolution of the organisational culture.

The onboarding of new team members, which historically would have been done in person by peers, also needs to be a focus.

Any physical time spent together must now be optimised, with a clear focus on the team, its shared purpose, and acknowledgment of the importance and contribution of all.

There should be a sense of adventure as to how work practices need to evolve and a willingness to experiment and quickly acknowledge what is and is not working.

Management that applies an out of sight, out of mind approach to hybrid workers is failing to address both the challenges and the opportunities that this model delivers.