Microsoft recently published a comprehensive research report on the future of hybrid and remote work. The report contains some encouraging data about the state of hybrid and remote work and several cautionary details.
As companies put remote and hybrid work models in place for the long-term, they should try to avoid these five pitfalls:
Avoid these 5 Pitfalls in Remote and Hybrid Work Models
Pitfall #1: Encouraging Poor Work-Life Balance
While many individuals report better work-life balance in a hybrid or remote work model, those results are not guaranteed. In some environments, hybrid and remote workers can find it difficult or impossible to turn work off at the end of the day. The Microsoft study revealed a third daily “productivity peak” well after traditional working hours and an increase in after-hours and weekend work. Though some employees may prefer this kind of flexibility, using daytime hours to tend to family or personal needs, others may feel pressured to work after hours. When the boss is sending e-mails at 11 pm, it’s tough not to respond! Be sure to communicate expectations clearly as you write remote and hybrid work policies. If no one expects e-mail responses at midnight, it might be helpful to say so.
Pitfall #2: Setting People Up for Burnout and Exhaustion
The Microsoft report highlights three significant factors in the rise of burnout and exhaustion during the pandemic: feelings of disconnection from colleagues, overwhelming workload, and lack of work-life balance. To some degree, some of these factors may have been unwittingly encouraged by leaders during the pandemic. For example, to keep people connected, some organizations may have increased meetings or made video mandatory during conferences, which may have contributed to a sense of overwhelm. As you transition into a more long-term and intentional model, define expectations upfront and check in with your team often to ensure that people are not getting burned out.
Pitfall #3: Forgetting about trust and relationships
When people aren’t working face to face, communication takes on an even more important role than traditional work models. The Microsoft report suggests trust and relationships are more important in virtual and hybrid team models, and the best way to build relationships is through thorough communication. Your virtual and hybrid models require a higher focus on those vital trust-building factors.
Pitfall #4: Overdependence on Meetings
It’s easy to feel that more meetings are vital to communication in a virtual or hybrid environment, but in reality, holding too many meetings contributes to employee overwhelm and exhaustion. In addition, employees who spend a large portion of their time in meetings can’t execute on the work they need to accomplish. The Microsoft report found that instituting “meeting-free days” improved cooperation and self-reliance. In fact, in companies with four meeting-free days per week, employees reported improved autonomy, cooperation, engagement, productivity, communication, and satisfaction. Try to limit meetings to allow people to work independently.
Pitfall #5: Insisting on Video Meetings
In conjunction with an overreliance on meetings in general, some companies also have an overdependence on video meetings, which contributes to participant fatigue. In addition, the Microsoft report points out that low-vision or neurodivergent participants may find video less inclusive. While video can be an essential tool in some meetings, be judicious in its use, and try to clearly define times when its use is not required. For example, if some employees are in the office and others are remote, video may be too much to manage, and a voice-only meeting might be more appropriate.
There is no question that the world of work is moving toward more flexible models, but this pivot will likely bring some false starts and growing pains. Your organization can start out on the right foot to create a highly engaged hybrid and remote team by avoiding some of the above pitfalls.
Self Check:
- When was the last time you had a meeting-free day? Is there one day per week that you could make meeting-free?
- What is one way leadership can encourage good work-life balance for remote and hybrid workers?
- Has transparency increased or decreased since your organization started implementing hybrid and remote work?
