According to commercial real estate agency CBRE, 80% of companies that occupy office space in the U.S. currently have hybrid work policies and plan to keep them. According to the American Staffing Association, this is a smart move for attracting and retaining talent, as 68% of workers say they prefer hybrid or in-office work. However, with dozens of hybrid remote schedule types available and as many challenges to implementing a flexible schedule, organizations must make important decisions around hybrid remote work.
Explore the meaning of hybrid remote work, including the types of hybrid working arrangements, the tools your company needs to make it successful and what challenges to look out for.
Hybrid remote meaning
Hybrid remote work is a flexible arrangement characterized by a blend of on-site and off-site work. Employees may come into the office for specific days or meetings while working remotely the rest of the time. Unlike a simple remote work model, hybrid work is a flexible schedule that aims to cultivate a workplace culture to accommodate diverse employee needs, preferences and productivity styles.
In practical terms, hybrid work models manifest as fixed schedules where teams work in-office on certain office days or they could allow more fluid arrangements based on individual circumstances or department needs. This flexibility helps organizations attract talent from a broader geographical area and cater to a more diverse workforce, such as parents of young children or workers who need accommodations for a disability.
Implementing hybrid work requires organizations to invest in technology and tools that make communication and collaboration seamless. This ensures remote employees feel as engaged and connected as their in-office counterparts. The right collaboration tools also ensure employees are able to be productive whether they’re in their home office or on-site.
Hybrid remote vs. traditional remote
To understand hybrid remote work, it’s important to compare it to fully remote working.
| Hybrid remote work schedule | Traditional remote schedule |
| Employees split their time between an office and their home office or remote location | Employees work from home or an off-site location 100% of the time |
| Offers a central office location where workers come to work | May not offer an on-site option |
| Team members can collaborate both digitally and in person | Team members collaborate digitally rather than in person |
| Offers flexibility as team members can come to the office for meetings or to collaborate | Remote workers may be able to meet in-person if they live close to each other but are most often working alone |
While both traditional remote roles and hybrid remote roles offer a better work-life balance for employees, a hybrid work environment ensures employees can meet in person. This often means hybrid workplaces have a more stable, defined office culture than fully remote workplaces. Hybrid work schedules may also give employees more autonomy as they decide for themselves when to work in the office and when to work remotely, depending on the type of hybrid work model the company offers.
The benefits of hybrid remote work for businesses
Implementing a hybrid remote work model generates many advantages both for employers and employees. These benefits often translate to a competitive advantage in the market. Some benefits of hybrid working models to consider include:
Increased employee satisfaction and retention
Because hybrid schedules allow employees to have greater control over their schedules, team members tend to be happier. In fact, Gallup reports that 54% of office workers would leave their current jobs for one that offers a more flexible schedule. A study by Stanford showed resignations dropped 33% by workers who shifted from full-time in-office to a hybrid schedule. Satisfied employees are more likely to stay with your company long-term, and they’re more likely to be highly engaged and productive.
Broader talent pools
While remote offices may have an advantage over hybrid workplaces in terms of the larger geographical location of new hires, offering a hybrid schedule still increases the talent pool for the company. For example, if an employee only needs to come to the office once or twice a week, they may be more willing to commute from a suburb or location further from the main office. Also, the flexibility in a hybrid schedule means people who need more accommodations for family or health reasons are more comfortable working for the company.
Improved employee well-being and work-life balance
A flexible working model gives employees more control over their schedules, which leads to greater work-life balance. Fully remote workers often report difficulty separating work and their personal lives because there’s no “end of day” signaled by leaving the office. At the same time, fully remote workers don’t have personal interactions with their coworkers on the same level as those who work a hybrid schedule or are in the office full time.
However, all types of workers reported the same levels of burnout in a recent Gallup survey. It’s important to note that offering hybrid remote schedules does not replace the basics of supporting employee well-being, such as encouraging regular breaks and time off, setting clear expectations and open communication.
Enhanced innovation and creativity
Employees who can fully focus on their work from home and collaborate with colleagues in the office are more likely to be innovative and creative. When employees can choose the work environment best suited to the project they’re working on, their output is simply more effective.
Cost savings on office space and utilities
Understanding how much office space your hybrid workforce needs allows you to right-size your office, saving you on real estate. At the same time, if everyone works from home one day a week, your office can save substantially on electricity and water bills when no one is in the office.
Improved environmental impact and sustainability
Reducing the time employees commute also impacts the environment. A study by Cornell and Microsoft found that employees who work from home two to four days a week can reduce their carbon footprint by as much as 29%. These employees may also save by reducing the amount of electricity the office uses to heat or cool the space, charge computers and devices or keep the lights on.
Greater resilience to disruptions
Hybrid workplaces are better prepared for disruptions to office life because workers can pick up where they left off even if they can’t get into the office. For example, workplaces that already had hybrid remote options were much faster at adapting to shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic than offices that only offered in-office work schedules. Less drastically, interruptions such as construction or office moves can be mitigated by employees having hybrid work options already available to them.
Hybrid work and the challenges businesses face
While hybrid work offers significant benefits, challenges can emerge during implementation and as your business grows. Common challenges presented by hybrid schedules include:
- Coordination and communication issues: Employees must be able to communicate and collaborate regardless of where they’re working. Functional chat, video conferencing, email, project management tools and collaboration tools must work seamlessly across locations.
- Technology investments: Organizations must ensure all team members have the right tools to get work done, whether they’re in-office or working remotely. At the same time, the organization must have a way to measure the success of new technology and that employees receive the right training to use it effectively.
- Cybersecurity risks: Remote employees are often at greater risk of cyberattacks and hacking from insecure wifi or having their equipment vulnerable to outside parties. IT and cybersecurity teams must ensure all employees work safely through VPNs and firewalls that also allow them to work effectively when they’re off site.
- Ensuring equity and inclusion: Forbes reports that remote workers are 31% less likely to be promoted than in-office employees. While hybrid work can change this statistic, workplaces must find ways to ensure all employees are included in workplace culture and decisions. At the same time, hybrid schedules need to be enacted fairly for everyone.
To overcome these challenges, businesses should focus on fostering a culture of trust and transparency. Regular check-ins and team-building activities can help bridge the gap between remote and on-site employees, ensuring everyone feels included and engaged in the company’s objectives.
Implementing a hybrid work policy: key factors
There are nearly as many hybrid remote work policies as there are organizations. Determining which one is right for you requires examining the different components of a hybrid remote schedule.
1. Leadership and organizational culture
If your organization is moving from a fully in-office schedule to a hybrid schedule, leadership will need to be prepared for the change. Some managers find it difficult to trust remote workers to get their tasks done and may be tempted to micromanage. Others may be less likely to check in as often as they have in the past. It’s important to find the right balance for your organization to maintain culture while giving employees autonomy.
2. Flexible technology infrastructure
Moving to a hybrid environment will mean changing how the office uses technology. Employees should be able to complete work seamlessly between their work environments. Experts recommend adopting a digital-first approach to all work, including centralized communication and digital meeting technology, cloud-based file sharing technology and digital collaboration tools.
3. Policies and protocols
It’s important to develop clear policies around hybrid remote work, including who gets to work from where and when. For example, many larger companies allow departments or teams to determine the best schedule for their employees. Other organizations set specific days of the week when all team members are expected to be in the office. Still others allow employees to request a hybrid arrangement when they need it, such as during project crunch times or when they have personal issues arise.
4. Continuous feedback and adaptation
For hybrid remote work to function effectively, leaders must monitor productivity and other factors to understand what works and what doesn’t. Using productivity monitoring software like ActivTrak provides data on when team members are most productive, when they may need better tools or technology or when they may need more training to be effective. Employees and management both need opportunities to provide feedback on hybrid schedules to increase buy-in and ensure policies are working as intended.
The future of hybrid remote work
Looking ahead to 2025 and beyond, several trends are expected to shape the landscape and meaning of hybrid remote work:
Finding a solution to too many meetings:
As hybrid work has evolved, many organizations have found they’re having more meetings than they used to. Harvard Business Review reported that executives spend almost 23 hours each week in meetings, up from less than 10 in the 1960s. Salary.com reported 47% of employees say meetings are the biggest waste of their time. Unnecessary meetings cut into productivity and can lead to burnout. As organizations adopt hybrid schedules, they’ll also find new ways to define “focus time” and “collaborative time” to reduce these unnecessary meetings in 2025 and beyond.
Increasing numbers of fixed hybrid schedules:
More and more workplaces are adopting hybrid and remote work schedules, which will continue into 2025 as the benefits continue to stack up. MIT Sloan Management Review predicts that more workplaces will steer towards hybrid schedules where everyone is in the office on certain days to promote collaboration as opposed to coming into the office just to be on video calls with colleagues (which employees can do from home).
The changing role of office space:
The open-office model or cubicle rooms with a one-size-fits-all approach are becoming a thing of the past. A global study from Cisco revealed that only 47% of workers believe their workspace is suited to hybrid work. The traditional office space will need to be reimagined for hybrid workers who want collaborative spaces, quiet rooms for focused work and meeting rooms with high-tech equipment to more effectively work with each other.
The rise of artificial intelligence as a functional tool for hybrid workplaces:
While Slack reports that only 36% of employees are excited about generative artificial intelligence (or GenAI) compared to 45% previously, flexible workplaces will likely find new ways to use GenAI to their advantage in 2025. While GenAI use and flexible schedules aren’t exactly correlated, studies have shown that organizations who are willing to put in the effort to make flexible schedules work are also more likely to train their employees to use GenAI effectively.
A greater focus on outcomes rather than attendance:
With the growth of hybrid scheduling, employers are finding new ways to measure employee value to the organization. Going forward, successful organizations will measure output and productivity compared to time spent rather than attendance in the office. Tools like ActivTrak will provide greater data and insights into how work is done to measure performance, dictate training and even determine headcount.
Organizations that offer hybrid roles will steal candidates from office-only companies:
While many big technology companies are making headlines by enforcing harsh return to office (RTO) mandates, many of those companies are also losing their best workers. Research shows that these RTO mandates are causing “brain drain” as large numbers of workers leave inflexible environments for hybrid workspaces. This is especially true for women who carry the brunt of childcare in the U.S. and find hybrid schedules give them more flexibility in scheduling their work time and family responsibilities.
Embrace the future of hybrid work with ActivTrak
Whether your organization has been hybrid for years or you’re just starting to offer more hybrid remote flexibility to workers, leverage ActivTrak to create the right policies for your team members. With our advanced workforce analytics cloud, you gain invaluable insights into employee productivity and well-being, ensuring your business thrives in the evolving landscape of 2025 and beyond.
Join the 9,500+ customers who trust ActivTrak to enhance their work environment with our award-winning technology. Ready to transform your organization's productivity and optimize outcomes? Contact our sales team today to get started and take the first step towards realizing your team's full potential.
