MAKINGHYBRIDWORKHUMANA PLAYBOOK FOR BUILDINGSUSTAINABLE HYBRID MODELSWRITTEN BY

MAKING HYBRID WORK HUMAN
A PLAYBOOK FOR BUILDING SUSTAINABLE HYBRID MODELS

02

ABOUT THE RESEARCH
Making hybrid work human is a multiphased research programme, conducted byEconomist Impact and sponsored by Google
Workspace, studying the sustainable future of
emerging models of work. Building on phase
1 and 2 of the research, as well as additional
expert interviews and literature reviews,
this final piece of the programme presents
actionable insights and recommendations
for organisations to build human-centric,sustainable hybrid work models.
We would like to thank the following experts
for their time and insights:• A da Choi, head of occupier research,
APAC, and head of data intelligence andmanagement, APAC, CBRE• A
 nne-Laure Fayard, ERA chaired professor
in social innovation, NOVA School ofBusiness and Economics• A nita Williams Woolley, associate
professor of organisational behaviour andtheory, Tepper School of Business, Carnegie
Mellon University• B rian Kropp, group vice president and chiefof HR research, Gartner• D avid Ulrich, Rensis Likert professor, Ross
School of Business, University of Michigan;
partner, The RBL Group• F
 ederica Saliola, lead economist in thesocial protection and jobs global practice,Work Bank• H
 arriet Molyneaux, managing director,
HSM Advisory• J on Messenger, team leader of the working
conditions group, International Labour
Organization• J odi Oakman, associate professorof ergonomics, safety and health,
La Trobe University• Manish Kashyap, global president, advisory
and transaction services, CBRE• Nicholas A Bloom, William Eberle
professor, Department of Economics,
Stanford University• Prithwiraj Choudhury, associate professorof technology and management, Harvard
Business School• Dr Sandhya Karpe, leader of the Human
Capital Centre, The Conference Board of Asia
This report was produced by a team of
Economist Impact researchers, editors anddesigners including:
Yuxin Lin, project manager
Lavanya Sayal, researcher
Wade Islan, researcher
Sudhir Vadaketh, writer
Amanda Simms, copy editor
Marina da Silva, designer
Economist Impact bears sole responsibility forthe content of this report. The findings andviews expressed herein do not necessarilyreflect the views of our sponsor, partners orinterviewed experts.

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MAKING HYBRID HUMAN
IS KEY TO ITS SUCCESS
Hybrid work1 is here to stay. Location- andtime-flexible work arrangements haveincreased dramatically since the pandemic’s
onset. Economist Impact’s global survey ofknowledge workers in Phase 2 of the Making
hybrid work human programme reveals thatthe majority of organisations will likely persist
with the pandemic-inspired hybrid work
models even once normality resides. Morethan three-quarters of survey respondents
expect flexible work models to become
standard practice within the next three years
and a similar share are confident that theirorganisations will implement them successfully.
However, hybrid work is still in its infancy
and numerous challenges remain. Uneven,divergent sentiments exist among knowledge
workers with regard to its benefits andchallenges. Views often depend on an
individual’s lived experience with hybrid work,
which is in turn influenced by factors such as
generation, family status, corporate seniority
and the ability to work remotely (see Box 1).
To reap the benefits of hybrid work, it isimportant for organisations to adopt ahuman-centric approach, putting employees
at the centre of corporate policymaking andimplementation. There are three reasons why
this kind of approach is necessary.
First, despite the reported presence ofbenefits to individual well-being and work
performance, hybrid work models disrupt thetraditional ways that individuals communicate
and collaborate, posing a threat to workplace
relations. Therefore, retaining and reinforcing
human connection is essential to implementing
hybrid work in a sustainable way.
The majority of our survey respondents agree
that: the lack of face-to-face supervision createsa sense of distrust among managers andemployees; and they often feel disconnectedfrom their organisation and co-workers.
Second, the emerging fault lines between
different segments of employees as they adapt
to hybrid work further exacerbates the threat

posed to workplace relations. Organisations
must strike a balance between the desire
for firm-wide standards and the importanceof tailoring policies to meet the needsof specific groups. Failure to do so risks
undermining employees’ loyalty andorganisational cohesion.
On this front, consideration should be given to
the fact that frontline workers are more likely
to feel a negative impact from limited social
interactions with their co-workers on theirmental health compared with non-frontline
workers. And they are also more likely tofeel stressed by the increased monitoring
associated with flexible work.
While Gen Z/Millennials are more likely to feelstressed by the increased monitoring associatedwith flexible work, Baby Boomers and Gen X
are more likely to report a negative impact on
productivity and work-life boundaries.
The third reason why a human-centric
approach is necessary is that there is anevident gap between senior managers andlower-level employees in their relative
perceptions and experiences of hybrid work.
Our survey reveals that, compared with senior
managers, lower-level employees are more likely
to feel that they are treated relatively unfairly
by flexible work models and disconnected fromtheir organisation and co-workers. Lower-level
employees are also less likely to experience
increases in location and time flexibility andmore likely to report that their organisation’s
technology stack is not very supportive.
All this suggests that senior executives mustbear specific responsibilities in the hybrid worktransition, including: recognising that morejunior employees may have vastly different
experiences of hybrid work than they do;ensuring that the voices of all employees areheard; and striving to be inclusive in theirdecision-making and policy implementation.
The shift to hybrid can be sustained only
if made human-centric. Fostering this

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centricity requires sustained, diligent efforts byorganisations. To help in this journey, Economist
Impact has designed a “Toolkit for building
human-centric hybrid work models” (seeFigure 1 on page 7). The numerous practices

and initiatives here are derived from the threemain pillars of success: building a culture oftrust, transparency, empathy and inclusiveness;recalibrating management mindset andpractices; and investing in workplace “hardware”.

Box 1. Persona Analysis
Economist Impact conducted cluster analysis on the Phase 2 survey results and identified four primary groups of knowledge
workers*. These groups hold overlapping but divergent ideas about the value and shape of hybrid work models, and represent
essentialised versions of some of the different perspectives around flexible work that business leaders can expect toencounter. Across all four personas, there is a general belief that flexible work holds promise for workers and organisations.
Yet their differences highlight the challenges that business leaders will face in creating effective policies for all employees.

39%

24%

While optimistic
about hybrid work,
the pragmatists placeextra emphasis on thismodel’s hurdles.

The most optimistic about
hybrid work, the evangelists
are typically very satisfied
with their organisation’s
flexible work policies

THE PRAGMATISTS

THE EVANGELISTS•P articularly concerned with blurredwork-life boundaries•  L argely feel that flexible work has a positive
impact on employees•  Feel their firm’s flexible work policies are
yet to successfully incorporate employee input•  More likely to report that their firm’s’ flexible work
policies have successfully incorporated employee input•M ore likely to think that flexible work
policies at their workplaces are unfair•  The most satisfied with their firm’s remote work technology,
and report sufficient training has been provided•R eport at higher rates that their organisations
have not provided sufficient technology training
for remote work•  Report little-to-no improvement is required tomake hybrid work sustainable

Demographic: skews towards Asia-Pacific andworkers with less location and/or time flexibility

Demographic: skews towards women and non-frontline
workers, and the most likely to be fully remote

23%

13%

Most concerned about employee
well-being, fairness and inclusion,
the fair-minded also emphasiseorganisational improvement of
culture and norms.

This cohort isn’t yet sure
how they feel about flexible
work, and are the least
confident about the futureof hybrid work.

THE FAIR-MINDED

THE UNDECIDED•R
 eport an overall positive impact of flexible work on
employee well-being, fairness and inclusion•  More likely to be working at firms that have
not yet issued a policy around hybrid work

•  Believethat considerable improvement is required to
improve communication, collaboration and the cultureof trust at the workplace•  Much more likely to be frontline workers,
and report at higher rates that limited social
interactions have affected their mental health•H ope for greater location and time flexibility•  Report technology challenges at higher rates,
saying that their firm’s technology provisions do
not support their ability to connect, collaborate andcommunicate remotely•M ore likely to have considered switching employers
because of their current flexible work policies

Demographic: skews towards Latin America, Gen Z andMillennials, and more junior employees; more likely to beparents or caregivers*Percentages do not total 100% due to rounding.

Demographic: skews towards Asia-Pacificand Europe, and frontline workers

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BUILDING A CULTURE OF TRUST,
TRANSPARENCY, EMPATHY AND INCLUSIVENESS
A human-centric organisational culture
is required to successfully establish andimplement hybrid work models. The
cornerstones of this culture are trust,transparency, empathy and inclusiveness.
At first glance, these are qualities that modern
organisations already seek to promote in theirbid for corporate success. Yet this drive tocultivate each has been given added impetusby the onset of hybrid work, which, by its very
nature, demands rethinking these aspects.
Trust
Trust is an important element in organisational
culture. The consequences of a culture of
distrust are significant, including diminishedproductivity, morale and motivation.2
The importance of trust grows with hybrid
work, which fundamentally relies on trustbased models. The relative lack of “face-time”
in hybrid models means that colleagues havefewer opportunities to observe one anotherand managers have less (direct) control overtheir teams. Workers have fewer shared
sidebar conversations that build rapport andinterpersonal trust, and there is less accessto situational cues to understand colleagues’
efforts and outputs.
There are two main relationships for whichtrust is paramount in hybrid work. The first is
between co-workers. The basis of successful
flexible work is that employees must trust theirpeers and teammates to meet goals and targets
regardless of their locations and work hours.3
The second is between supervisors andsubordinates. Supervisors trust theirsubordinates to achieve set goals while
granting them the autonomy to decide theirwork schedules. Employees, meanwhile, trust
their supervisors and leaders with their wellbeing and career growth.

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06“Managers can feel very uncomfortable orvulnerable when they don’t see the people
that they’re managing,” says Anita Woolley, anassociate professor of organisational behaviour
and theory at the Tepper School of Business,
Carnegie Mellon University. “It’s a matter ofwanting to have tangible evidence of what’s
happening…building a culture of trust from theperspective of hybrid work is critical.”4
There is a long way to go. Seventy-three
percent of our survey respondents say atleast some improvement is needed to build
a culture of trust between managers andemployees in their organisation.
Transparency
While trust is the glue that holds anorganisation together, transparency enables
trust. In general, transparency enables
organisations to operate in a way that creates
openness between managers and employees
and among co-workers.5 Implemented
properly, greater transparency promotes trust
between managers and employees, helps
improve morale and lowers job-related stress,
while increasing employee happiness andboosting performance.6
The shift to a hybrid model could disrupt
regular communication and information
sharing channels and workflows, hence
creating uncertainties for workers. And
the lack of transparent policies and clear
communication can result in increased
employee anxiety.7
Transparency in the hybrid workplace
therefore implies that all employees shouldhave easy and equal access to company
information, policies and plans. Individuals
should be able to easily share information
or feedback with each other. There must

“Managers will need to be
empowered to craft appropriate
solutions to the unique problemsof each employee. This will
require a greater investmentof their time and effort.”
Sandhya Karpe, leader of the Human Capital Centre
at The Conference Board of Asia

also be sufficient transparency in policyand decision-making processes. Finally,
improving access to remote work resources
and information is an important aspect oftransparency in hybrid models.8“Employees want clarity about work.
A major contributor to burn out is notknowing how you're doing and what results
you’re producing,” says Ms Woolley.9
Empathy
Empathy is another key enabler of trust andan important element of a human-centricorganisational culture. Its importance toorganisational performance has grown
dramatically over recent decades. Not long
ago some might have said that emotional
intelligence is a soft skill that is nice to have.
Today it is considered essential—especiallywith the hybrid work revolution.10
Different employees face different challenges as
they adapt to new hybrid work arrangements.
As a result, it is important—particularly for
managers and leaders—to be empathetic andrecognise these varying experiences.
“Managers will need to be empowered to craft
appropriate solutions to the unique problemsof each employee. This will require a greater
investment of their time and effort,” says
Sandhya Karpe, leader of the Human Capital
Centre at The Conference Board of Asia.” 11
Being empathetic in a hybrid workplacemeans that an individual—either a manager
or a worker—understands the uniquechallenges facing others as they adapt theirhomes and lives around hybrid work. It
necessarily involves acknowledging that every
individual’s needs, responsibilities and levelsof adaptability are unique.12
With empathy, individuals have greater
sensitivity in their people-to-peopleinteractions in the absence of in-person time.
This allows employees, managers and leaders
to pick up on other’s feelings and reactions,connect with people on an emotional level
and create a safe environment for individuals
to share their concerns and limitations.
Research indicates that businesses with teamleaders that look to understand the uniqueexperiences of each team member havehappier, more engaged employees.13

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Figure 1. Toolkit for building human-centric hybrid work models

ORGANISATIONAL
CULTURE• 	Do all employees haveeasy and equal access tocompany information,
policies and plans?
• 	Is there sufficienttransparency inpolicy- and decisionmaking processes inhybrid settings?

• 	Are managers sensitive
to the perspectives andexperiences of different
employee groups and arethey equipped with theright skills/toolkits?
• 	Are workers empatheticof challenges faced bytheir peers due tohybrid work settings?

• 	Are hybrid policies
adaptable to the needs ofdifferent employee groups,
enabling them to fairly
benefit from hybrid workand equally participate inworkplace activities?
• 	Do all employees, regardlessof location, have access totools that allow them tofully participate in hybrid
meetings and collaborate?

TRUST• 	Do remote/frontline
workers trust managers
with their well-being
and career growth?

MEETINGS/SOCIALISING

PRACTICES TO CONSIDER
Create diverse opportunities forin-person and virtual interactions• 	Regular team collocation• 	Virtual water coolers• 	Cross-functional teams• 	Video meetings buffer time

Rethink collaborations
in hybrid settings
COLLABORATION

TRANSPARENCY• 	Do managers trust
workers, and workers
trust their peers, toaccomplish work targets
regardless of locationand hours?

WORKPLACEACTIVITIES• 	Set fixed hours for collaboration
while allowing for asynchronous
collaboration

Adjust managerial practices
MANAGEMENT• 	Shift towards impact-oriented
performance evaluation• 	Provide training to managers
on managing hybrid teams

Communicate clearly,
actively and inclusively
COMMUNICATION• 	Clearly and frequently communicate
new work norms, hybrid protocols andprocesses (eg, regular re-onboarding)• 	Encourage employees to speak up
and share feedback

EMPATHYCHECKLISTFOR EXECUTIVESWORKPLACE”HARDWARE”

PRACTICES TO CONSIDER
Improve physical work
environment

HOME OFFICE
SET-UP• 	Include home office costs
as a part of pay packages• 	Support employees in building anergonomically safe home office

INCLUSIVENESS

07

Using technology to its fullest

TECHNOLOGYSTACKS• 	Use tools/platforms that best
suits hybrid work structures• 	Incorporate different groups’
needs into tech investments• 	Provide training and on-demand
technological support tools

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However, 75% of our survey respondents saythat the leadership in their organisations needto improve their understanding of employee
perspectives and experiences.

among other groups. Inclusiveness means taking
into account their needs when formulating
work policies, ensuring their fair participationin decision-making processes, and providing
access to benefits from hybrid work.

InclusivenessAmong other things, it requires managers
to review benefits, work-from-homeresources and other offerings to ensure they
continue to accommodate employees withdiverse needs as they navigate office andwork-from-home schedules.16

Inclusiveness means embracing all
employees—their unique backgrounds,
experiences and challenges—and enablingthem to make meaningful contributions.14
Equitable employers outpace theircompetitors by respecting the unique needs,
perspectives and potential of all their teammembers. As a result, diverse and inclusive
workplaces earn deeper trust and morecommitment from their employees.15
In a hybrid workplace, inclusiveness should
extend to frontline employees, remote workers,
caregivers, women, sick employees, quarantined
employees and employees with disabilities,“Flexible time is the minimum that can beoffered to in-person workers—those whoare either unable to telework because of
the nature of their positions, or alternatively
prefer not to do so,” says Jon Messenger, teamleader of the working conditions group at theInternational Labour Organization. “To theextent you can, offer at least time flexibility.
Allow them to choose shift schedules, or givethem the choice to work at different times.”17

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RECALIBRATING MANAGEMENTMINDSET AND PRACTICES
From management’s perspective, hybrid
work should not be seen just as an expected
evolution in the history of work, but rather
as representing a fundamentally new anddifferent work paradigm. It creates novel
challenges, which employers must address
with new mindsets and organisational
practices, including interaction and socialisation
platforms, and collaborative workflows andmanagement styles. Clear, active and inclusive
communication is more important than everin a hybrid work environment.
Creating diverse opportunities forin-person and virtual interactions
When designing and implementing
hybrid work, it is important for employers
to rethink the functions of traditional
venues and platforms, where most employee
interactions used to occur, while exploringnew opportunities for them to connect.
“An organisation where the thinking behindbuilding organisational culture is that ‘There
should be a coffee lounge for people tointeract’ will not survive the hybrid test,”
says Ms Woolley. “Such an organisation will
struggle to effectively translate in-person
culture into the online environment.”18
It is thus important that organisations lookto adopt new platforms that are purposely
built for fostering connections in the
online environment. These typically enable
employees to organise themselves into
small groups, play games with their teams,
participate in informal discussions and justgenerally build meaningful relations in a
hybrid work environment.19
Regular team collocation
As hybrid workers spend a lot of time working
separately and remotely, regular teamcollocation (either in the office or off-site)
creates opportunities for them to interact
and collaborate in person with colleagues,
including those who can’t work remotely. This
helps to foster interpersonal bonds within ateam, cultivating deeper trust and empathy
than is possible virtually.

There is no one-size-fits-all ‘in-person’schedule that is guaranteed to work.
Depending on organisation type, teamfunction and employee needs, managers
need to tailor suitable work schedules fortheir respective teams.
Prithwiraj Choudhury, an associate professorof technology and management at Harvard
Business School, suggests a “75/25” model. He
believes that for 75% of the time workers should
be given the freedom to work from anywhere,
but they should be physically collocated with
their team for the remainder. The specifics
around the 25% collocation time, he suggests,
should be decided on by teams (rather thanorganisations or workers) so that the entire teamcan be present together. This in-person timeshould be used for counselling and mentoring
sessions and social purposes. Additionally,each team should decide on whether to havemore or less collocation time, based on teamcomposition, tasks and the project.20
Sharing a similar view on collocation, Nicholas
Bloom, a professor of economics at Stanford
University, suggests that organisations should
mandate specific in-person days of the week—
an important measure to avoid presenteeism
bias. In partnership with employees, he says,organisations should come up with a structure
to decide when they want to work remotely or
in-person. For example, companies can makeWednesday an in-person meeting day. He
suggests a blended approach of first collecting
individual preferences; and then mandatingin-person and remote days at the team ororganisational level.21
Yet deciding on schedules is only part of thechallenge with regular collocation under ahybrid framework. Organisations also need tofundamentally rethink what exactly employees
will be doing when they are together.
Prior to the pandemic, many perceived offices
as the “true” place of work, around whichremote or flexible workers would revolve.
That is an increasingly outdated view, withmany now believing that the office’s primary

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10function is as a space for stimulating humanconnections. “The office should feed social
purposes and focus work should be done athome,” says Federica Saliola, lead economist
at The World Bank.22
Virtual socialisation and connection
Complementing regular collocation isenhanced virtual socialisation and connection.
The best ways of achieving this have become
clearer over the past few years, as different
kinds of workers have garnered experience
in remote work, feeding our collective
understanding of virtual work life.
First, to make up for the lack of casual in-person
interactions, organisations can set up virtualwater coolers or hallways, which can help hybrid
workers connect across teams. Employees acrossfunctions and different levels of seniority who
may not know each other are brought together
periodically. Group assignments can be madeby either an HR officer or algorithm. As the“Not being able to interpret
people’s body language wellduring video calls and not
being able to stay after the
meeting to chat can lead toa huge disconnect.”Anne-Laure Fayard, professor in social innovation,
NOVA School of Business and Economics

purpose of these gatherings is solely to broaden
organisational ties, they can be designed with an
explicitly social objective.23
To be effective, they will have to entice bothin-person and remote employees. In this way,
they can improve inclusiveness.
“My research on virtual water coolers showsthat under some conditions, such as repeatedinteractions, even five weeks is a good enoughtime for these informal sessions to improvea person’s productivity through an improved
sense of belongingness,” says Mr Choudhury.24
Organisations can also enhance virtualsocialisation by setting buffer times before
and after video meetings. Part of the reason

many workers experience video call fatigue isthe fact that they tend to be run in a clinical,
rapidfire way. Video conferencing strips away
the opportunity for in-person interactions
before and after meetings. These random,
casual side conversations can help build
empathy and strengthen team camaraderie.
Thus teams may want to institute a 10-15
minute buffer before and/or after calls, which
can help co-workers connect informally.
“Not being able to interpret people’s bodylanguage well during video calls and not being
able to stay after the meeting to chat canlead to a huge disconnect,” says Anne-Laure
Fayard, a professor in social innovation, NOVA
School of Business and Economics. “It is a lost
opportunity to develop informal connections.
Often a lot of interesting things happen
before and after the meeting.”25
Similarly, another way of fostering intraorganisational interactions is throughcreating cross-functional teams. Our survey
respondents identified “having regular crossteam meetings/events” as one of the top fivepractices to preserve workplace connections
under hybrid work models.
These teams can help to break the silos thatsometimes naturally emerge through hybrid work
arrangements, thereby boosting transparency
and improving both employee productivity andengagement. Creating an affinity to a team witha broader purpose can improve cohesion andcollaboration across the organisation.26
Organisations can establish cross-functionaland -regional teams that take responsibility
for various aspects of the organisation’s
cultural health.27
Rethinking forms of collaboration
The combination of hybrid schedules,
increased flexibility and distributed teams,
if not managed well, can lead to collaboration
failures and productivity losses. To mitigate
this risk, organisations can improve
collaboration in a hybrid work setting in two
ways: by setting fixed collaboration hours andfacilitating asynchronous collaboration.
Setting fixed collaboration hours
Having designated times for collaboration
relieves workers of a lot of anxiety, especiallythose with household responsibilities. Morethan a third of our survey respondents

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selected regular set hours for collaboration
within teams as one of the most effective
practices to preserve workplace connections
and relations under hybrid models.
Perhaps cognisant of this worker need,companies such as Zillow have established“core work hours”, for example from
10am to 2pm, when all meetings mustoccur, so working parents do not facepenalties for being unavailable during
school pick-ups and drop-offs.28
This also allows workers to then havedesignated focus time on their calendars,
which not only boosts productivity but alsorelieves stress and improves mental wellbeing. All this will feed the belief among
workers that their managers are being
empathetic towards them.

workflows thereby increases efficiency anddecreases dysfunction.29
Asynchronous collaboration also helps improve
equity between different groups of hybrid
workers, fostering a sense of inclusiveness.
For example, it provides flexibility toemployees such as childcare providers. It also
removes time zone bias, enabling global teammembers to be on an equal footing.30
Finally, embracing a balance of synchronousand asynchronous collaborations and creating
a culture where breaks are encouraged will
help counter online fatigue. Over two-thirdsof our survey respondents think that there are
currently too many virtual meetings.

Hybrid settings allow for location and time
flexibility. Asynchronous collaboration, whichallows team members to collaborate without
having to work on the same task simultaneously,
can further extend this flexibility.

Asynchronous collaboration cannot happen
without technology that makes context andinformation sharing more durable across timeand space. Its successful implementation
requires organisations to take into accountdifferent responsibilities and needs
among employees and adopt appropriatetechnological tools that can best support
the process in hybrid work environments.

Teams can craft schedules that allow members
to disconnect for set hours to concentrate,
and to fit their natural energy rhythms, which
can boost productivity. Enabling asynchronous“So many tasks can be achieved asynchronously
if workers are trusted and given the right tools,”
says Ms Woolley. “A lot of meetings where
people are just giving status updates don’t

Asynchronous collaboration

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necessarily need to happen. Instead, using
a task tracking tool—even a digital checklist—
can easily solve this problem.”31

does not always translate to productivity. It canalso amplify presenteeism biases, which canultimately lead to the demise of hybrid models.32

Adjusting managerial practices“Monitoring productivity is absolutely
counterproductive. How many meetings one
attends, how many hours one works, how many
emails one sends out…all of those are irrelevant,”
says Mr Choudhury.33 Even worse, monitoring
can also harm the supervisor-subordinate
relationship, suggests Mr Messenger. “Electronicmonitoring is the ultimate invasion of trust and,in fact, counter-productive.”34

The manager-subordinate relationship isdifferent in a hybrid work set-up than in a
traditional workplace. There are several reasonsfor this, but perhaps the most important isthat without the same amount of in-person
connection, it becomes trickier to assess theother person’s actions, thoughts and intentions.
Over the course of the past two years,
employees everywhere have collectively
sought more empathy and understanding
from their managers as they cope with therealities of flexible work. Yet it is just as
important for organisations to equip their
managers with the right training. The brave
new world of hybrid work can be daunting forboth managers and subordinates.
Thus when it comes to adjusting managerial
practices, organisations should focus primarilyon two things: reorienting towards impactbased performance evaluations; and providing
leadership and managerial training.
Shifting towards impact-oriented
performance evaluation
The tension between evaluating a worker basedon their process (eg, hours spent working)versus their output is an old one. “Face time”
has long been an important (unofficial) metricin many work cultures. The current hybrid work
revolution has brought all this to the fore, as
increased location and time flexibility makes
it more difficult to observe individuals’ work
processes. Some managers have resorted tomore intensive electronic monitoring.
The reality is that management by observation
leads to an inaccurate assessment of performance.
‘Time spent at desk’ or 'number of hours online'“So many tasks can beachieved asynchronously
if workers are trusted
and given the right tools.”
Anita Woolley, associate professor of organisational behaviour andtheory at the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University

Seventy-three percent of our survey respondents
say that at least some improvement isneeded in their organisation to improve
performance evaluation approaches. Multiple
experts interviewed for this study suggested
organisations shift to a value-based system froma process-oriented approach. “There is a needto shift the focus from ‘outputs’, ie, hours spentor reports generated to ‘outcomes’ or real value
created. The latter of course is much harder tomeasure,” says Ms Karpe.35
This can be achieved by setting clear
objectives and expectations, establishingconcrete deliverables and time frames, andagreeing upon an action plan in sufficientdetail. All this can help workers feel
responsible and accountable. Managers canuse their one-on-one check-ins (in-person
or virtual) to provide real-time guidance andsupport. All this will help boost transparency
and foster trust with employees.
“Give workers time sovereignty in exchange
for concrete results,” says Mr Messenger.
“Then let them be.”36
Providing leadership/managerial training
If organisations require a new form ofmanagement to deal with the realities ofa hybrid workplace, then it follows thatmanagers must be equipped with the rightskills and toolkits to perform those roles.
A lack of managerial training can contributeto distrust in a hybrid workplace. Many
supervisors haven’t been trained to manage
hybrid teams, causing them to fall into thetrap of over-monitoring employees, whichtends to backfire.37
This may explain why half of our survey
respondents feel stressed because of the increased
monitoring associated with flexible work.

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In line with that, 77% of respondents saythat within their organisation at least some
improvement is needed on training
for managers that covers how to manage
hybrid teams.
Managers in a hybrid set-up need to
be sensitive and empathetic about
varying challenges faced by their employees—
a quality that may not come naturally to some.
Many managers currently are under-trained,
under-experienced and forced into a stressful
new hybrid reality. “Managers need to be
trained in not just managing employees whotelework, but managing employees who are
not used to teleworking,” says Mr Messenger.38
Offering workshops on remote managerial
skills will be helpful. So will cultivating
emotional intelligence. ”A manager's role will
have to shift from a task manager to thatof a counsellor—now they will need to be a
manager of people, feelings and relationships,”
says Brian Kropp, group vice president andchief of HR research at Gartner.39
Communicating clearly,
actively and inclusively
With fewer in-person interactions ina hybrid workplace, clear, active andinclusive communication assumes greater
importance and is instrumental in increasingtransparency; building trust among
employees, managers and leaders; andfacilitating seamless collaboration.

Clear communication
To ensure hybrid work’s success, according
to our survey respondents, the three mostimportant organisational and managerial
practices are: clear communication regarding
job responsibilities; clear expectations
regarding work hours; and clear guidelines forin-person and remote-work coordination.
Clear communication of new work norms,
hybrid protocols and processes can help
improve transparency and combat distrust.
Leaders in a hybrid environment should be as
explicit as possible when assigning items—suchas documents, deliverables and deadlines—so
as to improve efficiency and trust.
Active communication
There are several ways in which a more
active communication strategy can deliver
benefits to a hybrid workplace. For instance,a greater frequency and variety in how
workers communicate (email, chat, video,
face-to-face) can create an environment of
psychological safety.40,41
Some 36% of our survey respondents believethat weekly (or more frequent) catch-ups
within teams is one of the most effective
practices to preserve workplace connections
and relations under hybrid models.
All this also involves an understanding of eachteam member’s working styles, including thelevel of autonomy they are comfortable with,the method of engagement they prefer, andthe periods during the day when they are
most effective or creative.

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Meanwhile, the transition to hybrid has
provided organisations with an opportunity toengage in regular re-onboarding. Because of thesweeping changes across organisations during
the pandemic—such as new workers and drastic
shifts in roles—it is necessary for firms to get all
employees up to speed with the organisation's
procedures, as well as to acquaint them with thecompany culture and workplace.
Regular re-onboarding can also boost
the employees’ sense of belongingness,and improve employee retention andproductivity.42 A third of our survey
respondents believe that regular updates
on overall organisation projects andachievements is one of the most effective
practices to preserve workplace connections
and relations under hybrid models.
Celebrating small moments—including
growth, adaptability and resilience
milestones—can help to make up for thelost opportunities for managers/employees
to provide spontaneous feedback in a
traditional work environment, for example
complimenting each other after meetings,
in the hall or over drinks.
Many workers receive assignments, deliver
them on time, and hear back only when their
managers need more work done. Active
communication demands that managers do
more. For instance, it is important to point“Managers need to be trainedin not just managing employees
who telework, but managing
employees who are not used
to teleworking.”
Jon Messenger, team leader of the working conditions group,
International Labour Organizationout to the broader team (whether over groupmessages or on a team video chat) when aremote team member has done a good job.
This can make them feel recognised and build
a sense of belonging.43
Inclusive communication
Being inclusive in communication methods
is all the more important in a hybrid work
environment, where different individuals will
face unique challenges while interacting with
their colleagues.
It is important that leaders share important
information via email or other digitalcommunication channels so that virtual
workers are never left out. This includes notjust information applicable to individual
teams, but also broader corporate materials.
Managers should clearly and consistently
convey messages on company news, FAQs,
policy changes and training resources.44
Digitising workflows through online documentsthat are easily accessible to all office andremote workers will help to maintain an
inclusive workplace and enhance transparency.
Communication is, of course, a two-way
street. Maintaining open communication lines
can encourage workers to speak up. This canhelp leaders understand their teams betterand cater policies to their needs.

MAKING HYBRID WORK HUMAN
A PLAYBOOK FOR BUILDING SUSTAINABLE HYBRID MODELS15INVESTING IN WORKPLACE“HARDWARE”
When it comes to installing the right“hardware” for successfully implementing
hybrid work, organisations need to thinkbeyond traditional office space and videoconferencing. According to our survey, “newtechnologies that allow for time and location
flexibility” is the most important condition
needed to achieve the long-term success of
hybrid work models.
By proactively investing in employees’ homeoffice spaces and providing them with thenecessary technological tools and training,organisations can not only boost productivity,
but also employee well-being and connection,and ultimately organisational cohesion.
Improving physical work
environment at home
One of the most basic but important things
employers can do is to make sure that theirworkers have a decent home office set-up.
Investing in hybrid workers’ physical work
environment at home not only benefits theirwell-being and productivity, but also ensures
a level playing field between on-site and offsite employees.
Nearly 80% of our survey respondents agree
that employees who have suitable home officespaces are at an advantage, while 72% believethat their organisations need to increase
investment in employees’ home offices.
“Tech resources, home office set-ups andremote technologies should be part of theemployment/pay packages,” says Ms Fayard.
“Wi-Fi, for example, costs a fortune in the US—employees need to be supported.”45
This is especially true for younger workers andjunior employees, who often lack the means
to build an ergonomically safe home officewithout employer support.
“Junior employees are more likely to live insmall spaces where they feel confined…
which is not an optimal work environment,”
says Mr Messenger.46

Fulfilling technology’s potential
To fulfil technology’s potential, organisations
must consider not only which technology
tools to invest in, but also how to use the tools
and make them accessible to all employees.
Accessibility, in particular, is essential to
implementing a human-centric, sustainablehybrid work model.
Companies should be creative in how they use
tools and platforms to support collaborationand socialisation; successful platforms won’t
necessarily try to recreate the in-person
experience, but instead find ways to takeadvantage of hybrid work structures.
Using technology to best support
activities in the hybrid workplace
Video conferencing has become so ubiquitousover the past few years that each individual
worker probably has strong feelings about
what format works best for them.
Still, a few broad trends are becoming more
apparent. Video conferencing is more efficientwith smaller groups. One piece of research
indicates that the efficiency of an online
meeting is negatively correlated with thenumber of participants. (The highest efficiency
occurs when there are two to five participants;
the lowest when there are ten or above.)47
Nevertheless, in practice it is inevitable thatsome large meetings will have to be conducted
online. Mr Bloom contends that while it is not
optimal to conduct large online meetings,
there are tools that can help improve theexperience. “One simple technology is to havea lot of cameras in conference rooms/meetingrooms interacting with artificial intelligence(AI). That means when anyone is talking, they
always appear to be looking into the screen—eye contact is important.”48
One vital part of traditional work that
seems to be dissipating in the hybrid work
setting is informal knowledge sharing.
Distributed colleagues can’t tap one anotheron the shoulder to ask questions or get help.
Hybrid workers tend to lose out on passive

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16

knowledge-sharing moments and informal
idea exchanges. Workplace knowledge isoften not codified, even when it can be, andinstead resides in people’s heads.49
One way to boost informal knowledge sharingis through central, easily accessible platforms
that can emulate in-person interactions andencourage healthy discussions. Ms Fayard suggests“something similar to the Reddit model—a lot of
learning takes place within online communities,
and this, can be used in professional set up…thiswill, however, require facilitation supervision,
which can create new roles.’’50
Frontline workers who do not have the rightto work remotely can feel unfairly treatedin hybrid work models. By investing in
automation, organisations can extend theoption of flexible work to many frontline
employees. For instance, many companies
have deployed automation and AI in
warehouses, grocery stores, call centres
and manufacturing plants.
In a global survey of 800 senior executives
in July 2020 by McKinsey, two-thirds of
respondents said they were stepping up
investment in automation and AI either
somewhat or significantly.51
Mr Choudhury describes ongoing corporate
efforts in this area: “Unilever, for example, isdeveloping/testing a digital twin model. With
AI and sophisticated sensors in factories,
factory workers need not be present in
manufacturing facilities and can work
remotely. This model is also being tested in
ERs [emergency rooms] in NY hospitals andhas received positive results.”52
Making technology tools
accessible to all employees
When it comes to accessibility, organisations
need to pay attention to two components. The
first is the need to closely examine the existing
technology stack before, with employee

input, deciding on and investing in more. The
second is the need for training and on-demand
technological support for workers.
Companies need to make assessments ofnumerous technologies before they can decideon which ones best suit individual workers,
and which are needed in the office to level theplaying field for remote and in-person workers.
A good first step is to examine existing
technology patterns, for instance to identify
where employees usually drop out or spend
extra time completing a task. It pays to seek
employee feedback. Often organisations
introduce tools that are unnecessary anddifficult to use. It is imperative that managers
discuss tech needs with employees before
making any assessments.53
Yet selecting and investing in the right tools
will be a wasted effort if adequate trainingis also not provided. Not all employees aretech-savvy. Many require training to use
technological tools more effectively so as tooptimise workflows in a hybrid environment.
Some 76% of our survey respondents saythat their organisation needs to make at least
some improvement in providing technicaltraining programmes, while Baby Boomers are
more likely to report that their organisations
do not provide sufficient training for all
workers to effectively use technology underremote work arrangements.
Organisations should consider, among otherrecommended practices, creating on-demand
training tools and developing bite-sized
information (eg, instruction manuals), which
can solve a lot of angst among employees who
are not tech-savvy. There is also value in having
more in-depth materials easily available.
GitLab, for example, assembled a 5,000-page,open-source handbook so that new andexisting employees could easily find answers
to basic questions without having to wait for
replies from its IT helpdesk.54

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CONCLUSION

Much of the hype around hybrid work
appears justified. Survey results and expert
interviewees all indicate that the shift toflexible work models is rapid and broad-based,
and is having clear impacts on everything fromindividual well-being to productivity.
Nevertheless it is important to rememberthat hybrid work is clearly still in its infancy,
as each organisation tries to ascertain how
to implement it amid conflicting evidence
about its relative benefits and costs.
Organisations must recognise that because
individuals have unique work needs,
there is no one-size-fits model, and thus
the how to implement hybrid work is key
to its long-term success.
Given all that, it follows that the shift tohybrid can be sustained only if hybrid
models are human-centric. For organisations
to succeed, they must pay more than just lip
service to this notion of putting their people
at the centre of hybrid work policymaking.
The “Toolkit for building human-centrichybrid work models” (see Figure 1) is notmeant as an easy plug-and-play fix, butrather as a guide with values and practices
that need to be regularly revisited by teams
engaging in flexible work.

Its three main pillars of success function
together. The workplace activities (meeting/socialisation, collaboration, management
and communication) and the workplace“hardware” (home office set-up andtechnology stacks) are meant to work inconcert so as to foster the four elements oforganisational culture: trust, transparency,
empathy and inclusiveness.
Long before the pandemic, successful
managers have strived to promote those four
elements. Yet never before have they been
so important. With colleagues working fromdifferent locations and at varying hours, any
deficits in trust, transparency, empathy andinclusiveness will be much harder to mitigate,
and much more potentially damaging to teammorale and productivity.
It is thus of vital importance thatorganisations and managers regularly assess
their hybrid work policies and practices withinthat framework. Are they human-centric? Arethey helping to promote trust, transparency,
empathy and inclusiveness?
Organisations that regularly answer in theaffirmative will be the ones who lead us into
our hybrid work future.

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19

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