As the end of the pandemic draws closer, many businesses are scrambling to get their employees to return to the office. Over the course of the year, many workplaces were forced to try to come up with a solution that would keep productivity levels amongst their staff high, while also attempting to mitigate the further spread of Covid-19. What many places of employment found is that there is a wealth of benefits when they implement a hybrid workplace model. Here are a number of reasons why employers may want to consider using this hybrid model as the pandemic comes to an end.
Many employees have found the typical office environment to be quite unenjoyable. With rows of cubicles lined up across a room, the harsh fluorescent overhead lighting, and arctic-like temperatures, it’s no surprise that people find that they are much more productive while working in the comfort of their own homes. While there are circumstances which would require an employee to physically come to the office, the majority of work can be done remotely. Alexander Djerassi has aimed to implement more hybrid workplace options within his own business offices. He has experienced, firsthand, the benefits of allowing people the opportunity to work from home. By being flexible and allowing employees to conduct a substantial portion of their work remotely, both employees and employers will benefit from this method in the long run.
Another important factor to consider, is that working from home has been extremely beneficial when it comes to disease management and the mitigation of a variety of illnesses. It was noted, due to the abundance of Covid-19 precautions being taken, that the flu was virtually nonexistent last winter. Without a doubt, this is due to the fact that people were not forced to spend multiple hours a day in a stuffy, overpopulated office building. Although one can try to disinfect office equipment and “high touch” surface areas, all it takes is one sick employee to let out an uncovered sneeze to cause an outbreak across the office. When these illness clusters occur, productivity rates amongst staff sharply decline for weeks until the outbreak is over. Alexander Djerassi has stressed that there are a multitude of benefits when it comes to integrating a hybrid work environment into a workplace. Illness mitigation is one of the best reasons why one should consider implementing a hybrid working environment.
The best thing about a hybrid workplace environment is that it is entirely customizable. Anyone can tailor this model to fit the specific needs of their business. One way to implement this model is to have nearly everyone working remotely, while attending office meetings in person once a week. Another way in which this model can be implemented is to have just a few employees working from home at a time, and then switching them out every few weeks.
A hybrid work environment seems to be the way of the future. With just a bit of planning and preparation, a hybrid work environment can be instrumental in the successful transition back to normal business operations.
