The reality is that a hybrid home/office workplace environment is no longer the future of work.
It is happening now. Beyond the physical workplace, this kind of home/office setup has several other implications for the organization and its employees – most of which are still being explored to this day. So, how is your organization keeping up with these changes? In this article, we’re going to discuss the implications of the hybrid work setup for an organisation and its employees, as well as the steps HR can take to help their teams as they adopt and manage this new normal.
First, let’s talk about the Return To Office (RTO) issue
Right now, businesses are now looking to bring employees back into the workplace, to re-establish the workplace norm. However, since the pandemic showed everyone that the work-from-home setup was a viable option, many employees are still opting to stay at home and work remotely, or just report to the office from time to time, creating a hybrid workplace environment that gives employees more flexibility. This has become the actual norm across the world and Australia has naturally followed suit. A report by The Guardian found that the average working Australian (both full and part-time workers) now spends 73% of their working hours in the office and 27% at home.
Who returned to the office and who stayed at home?
Now that there are more workplace options, there are differences in the choices that employees make in terms of their work setup. A Stanford study found that between tertiary-educated women and men with children, women are most likely to choose to work from home post-pandemic. A natural first thought is - it’s great that they can make these choices.
However, a huge gap has arisen when it comes to the opportunities for employees working from home and their colleagues who are based in the office on a regular basis. Those working from home are getting essentially “left behind” due to a lack of visibility.
In a 2015 study (yes, this is pre-pandemic) conducted by Stanford, it was established that the promotion rate for WFH employees is lower by 50% than those of their office colleagues – regardless of the comparative skill level. So, choosing to work from home can actually lead to setbacks in career growth – and looking at the stats above, this means some people working remotely may be losing opportunities to their colleagues who report to the office.
Here’s a typical hybrid vs RTO example
Say you have two employees who were hired at the same time and are currently fulfilling similar roles. Let’s call them John and Sally. When the go-signal for RTO came, John immediately returns to the office full-time. Sally, on the other hand, chooses to work remotely for 4 days and report to the office once a week. It’s business as usual for the first couple of weeks – but there’s one difference: John will cross paths with the management team a number of times in the office halls, chat with them, work physically alongside them and nurture connections. Sally, on the other hand, continues to do great in her role (possibly even better than John) but they only see her once a week.
When an opportunity to lead a major project comes along, who do you think is more likely to be chosen to take the lead?
John!
As he is benefiting from recency bias – this is because the number of times he’s seen doing great in the office can outweigh the quality of work Sally does from home. From a Manager’s perspective, it’s easier to just knock at John’s door, talk things through and hand him the project. John then gets a chance to prove himself while Sally remains doing her usual tasks.
It’s just one assignment though! Will it really make a difference? An MIT study revealed that highly visible and strategically important assignments are essential to career advancement – and historically, women have been largely overlooked for these “stretch” assignments as they have fewer ties to the decision-makers. This means that Sally was already in a disadvantaged position even before the differences in the work setup exacerbated things. So, when a career promotion is on the table, John potentially gains a huge advantage, simply due to physical presence, allowing him to move up faster in the career ladder. Sally, witnessing this and knowing her capabilities might feel less motivated and look for a new role in a new company where she could still have career advancement opportunities while working from home.
The company has just lost a valuable asset – and at great cost to the business, which could have been prevented.
How can HR Managers maintain equity as employees return to the office?
In situations like this, it becomes the responsibility of HR and business leaders to ensure that employees – whether they’re working from home or reporting to the office – receive the opportunities they deserve, minimizing employee turnover rates and protecting the business from its costs. But how?
The key is to have full transparency of every employee’s skill set, qualifications and potential, regardless of physical exposure.
In a company with multiple employees, it can be challenging for HR teams to collect all these necessary data and ensure equal opportunities for everyone.
This is where an Internal Talent Marketplace platform comes in.
An Internal Talent Marketplace like GoFIGR is a smart HR platform within an organization that facilitates the identification, connection and mobility of its internal employees. With valuable insights collected from your team, GoFIGR allows you to:
- identify your employees’ current skillsets and career goals
- match them to internal development opportunities like projects, mentors and learning
- realize your team’s full potential
- reduce the cost of recruitment by upskilling from within
- have full visibility of your team – whether they’re working on-site or from home
This smart HR tech platform empowers you to FIGR (Find, Inspire, Grow and Retain) employees in a hybrid workplace environment! So no one is left behind.
Your future team is already working for you.
Don’t let that precious talent go to waste. Instead, give them the opportunity to grow their career AND drive your business into its tomorrow with GoFIGR, your trusted Internal Talent Marketplace platform. It’s the ultimate way to retain staff, foster a progressive internal culture and minimize the costs of repetitive recruitment.
Contact GoFIGR today to discover how we can help you to foster a future-focused workforce using our internal talent marketplace.
Helena Turpin spent 20 years in talent and HR innovation where she solved people-related problems using data and technology. She left corporate life to create GoFIGR where she helps mid-sized organizations to develop and retain their people by connecting employee skills and aspirations to internal opportunities like projects, mentorship and learning.
