Hybrid work is dead, back to the office or fully remote?
Published: 2022-11-23 09:12:13

[#sofatutor](https://dev.to/t/sofatutor) [#mentalhealth](https://dev.to/t/mentalhealth) [#hybrid](https://dev.to/t/hybrid) [#remote](https://dev.to/t/remote) [#office](https://dev.to/t/office)

The hybrid method is dead, so now, back to the office or working remotely? I am deliberately asking this question while discarding the hybrid mode. It is a nice and modern concept, used by many recruiters and companies to attract talent. It is true that companies believe in it, offer and promote it fervently to gradually invite workers to return to face-to-face work.

But this only works if your employees live close to the company's offices. However, most teams have autonomy and are free to decide which model they want to apply. In my opinion, many of them opt for a 100% remote model, even if they live in the city itself. Others make an agreement to meet in the office to see each other, but usually only one day a week and rarely two days at most.

The majority of the people I have had the opportunity to talk to, directly rule out the option of working physically again. The reasons are varied, but above all, it points out that they have already organized their work and personal time and that it is hard to change it or they are not willing to do it

Other reasons that emerge, but are only shared when there is a degree of connection with the person, are poor relationships between peers and management. This is something that is not talked about but is a latent problem in many teams. Let me know if you are interested in this topic so that I can write a new article covering it.

Also, this hybrid model is automatically excluded as long as your team is fully distributed across the country, the continent, or around the world.

But back to the original question about remote or on-site work, in my opinion, it is clear that remote work wins and I would like to highlight how important it is to regularly check the mental health of the team members. It is well known that remote work complicates the disconnection between working hours and personal life. We no longer get up from our office and go home, but have merged it. This results in being constantly connected or available, especially if parts of the team are working in different time zones.

Remote working has eliminated that social interaction we had in the past: having a coffee with a colleague, talking about the previous weekend on a Monday, going to lunch with someone from another department, playing kicker... all that is gone! disappeared and in my particular case, my interaction with people outside my virtual-work environment during the day has been reduced to saying hello to the cashier at the supermarket or to the Amazon delivery guy, who always rings my doorbell because he knows I am always at home.

This problem can be worse if the person lives alone, has relocated to a new country and does not yet know the native language, or has not established a circle of friends. In any of these cases, feelings of isolation and loneliness can quickly build up. This, combined with a heavy workload, long working hours, or even performing repetitive or unchallenging tasks, can lead to problems like burnout or even imposter syndrome.

To prevent the development of these problems, it is necessary that the company is aware of this, and encourages a healthy working environment by offering the necessary measures. This can be as simple as promoting coffee breaks where team members talk about non-work related topics or, why not, play online games, holding frequent virtual and, where possible, in-person team events, and fostering online activities where employees with the same interests can discuss and exchange information on such topics. 

1&1 meetings should be a place where not only technical questions about work or goals are discussed, but also about workload, and stress level. It is important to detect the early stages of symptoms as soon as possible in order to implement the appropriate measures accordingly. It must be a safe, constructive, and confidential place to talk openly and confidentially about any issues that may be affecting the employee.

In addition, it is recommended to provide employees with tools so that they can work on prevention themselves at their own pace. Some of these tools could provide them with (online) benefits such as access to sports activities,  yoga or workshops on stress and emotion management, and conflict resolution, as well as access to personalized coaching sessions conducted by professionals.

At this point, if you are wondering if #sofatutor cares about these things, my answer is a clear yes. The company offers us the necessary tools that we can use when we need them, as well as promotes a healthy and safe work culture.

I would be happy to read your opinions!

By the way, I own the photo that accompanies this article, it is a privilege to live in this area, work remotely and have this beautiful landscape when I go for a walk.


![Image description](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/wgalc265w4xcilktu8rv.jpeg)