As the months go by, 2021 seems to be the year in which we will finally begin to live what will be the new normal in all aspects of our lives. There is no doubt that the coronavirus pandemic’s appearance brought a series of changes in the way we live and work. Research suggests that before the pandemic, Americans only spent 5% of their time working from home, a statistic that increased to 60% as of spring 2020.
Nowadays, we buy almost everything online, we have virtual doctor appointments, and many of us have become remote workers. Experts hope that we will begin to return to some old ways of doing things in our new normal. The adaptations we had to make in this pandemic only accelerated the trends that already existed, like cashless shopping and remote work. These changes arrived faster and are becoming something permanent in our society.
With the arrival of the COVID -19 vaccine, we are closer to the end of the pandemic. While some companies will return to pre-pandemic ways, big companies are already planning a new way of working for their employees. The hybrid workplace model will combine work within the office and from home. And its main objective is and should be the safety and health of employees and employers. Big companies will implement this new way of working, marking this as a new trend that other companies worldwide will join.
This new work model will be flexible and will bring benefits to both employees and their employers. Still, it will also bring challenges such as adapting workspaces to maintain social distancing but at the same time allow them to collaborate. It is still unclear how the hybrid model will work for each company, and it will be a matter of trying different schemes until finding which one works best according to each organization’s work culture.
Flexibility in the Workplace
But without a doubt, the flexibility in the post-Covid workplace will allow us as employees to gain more control over our lives, and we will be able to manage better the hours that we will spend in the office and the time that we will be able to be at home. Effectively manage of our time will be essential to successfully executing this new normal. And I think that we as employees can work now on that issue so that this future transition will be as manageable as possible.
Thanks to technology, we now have incredible online resources and applications available to schedule our daily tasks. A time tracking app can help you to manage your time and maintain your work productivity. It will be essential that always keep looking for more ways to be more efficient in working hours in this new normality.
The hybrid model of working could give us the freedom to do our work when we know that we are more productive, some people work better in the morning, and others do better in the evenings.
Benefits of a New Working Model
The hybrid office is a new work scheme that will bring new responsibilities, but we can also get incredible benefits. When we work remotely, we literally could work from anywhere.
We could enjoy incredible things such as a remote work trip to a safe and fun destination. Our loved ones and ourselves will not have to wait until we have days off from work to enjoy a relaxing holiday getaway, something that can be amazing after the year we have spent at home.
The hybrid office model also will offer a more inclusive environment where all those who have responsibilities outside of work, such as caregivers or parents, can spend more time with their kids or can schedule appointments with doctors without the hassle of taking PTO.
The shift to a hybrid world of work will focus on combining our time at the office with our days working from home, which will push us to pay more attention to our health and mental well-being.
When we start to put this new work model into practice, our employers and ourselves will have to put our health first, a benefit that we must know and demand at all times from now on. Our offices must comply with security and cleaning guidelines to keep us safe while we are in the workspace. The more protected we feel, the more we will stay motivated to continue being productive in our jobs.
Hybrid Work Model is Here
The future of work is here, the hybrid work model is a change that is coming to our lives, and we need to prepare for it. Ask your employer all the questions you need ahead of time so that you can clear up your doubts and concerns before the transition takes place in your office. Let’s stay positive, open-minded, and with a good attitude so we can adapt in the best way possible to this new working model.