Getting employees' buy-in for the hybrid working model

From how we work to how we socialize and even how we do our grocery shopping, our lives were all turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic and its aftermath. The rise in popularity of the hybrid working model is a piece of this puzzle you definitely have to consider.

How do you get employees to buy into hybrid work , though? What makes people tick for coming into the office?

We have some tips for you, so read on to find out more.

The Hybrid Working Model, Explained

In short, hybrid work is “a cross between a traditional 9-to-5 job and a remote working model.” This model provides employees agency, ownership, and flexibility to choose office attendance based on needs rather than mandates.

Some of the most common hybrid working model examples include the following:

The Work/Life Hybrid

Employees can attend office on weekdays or weekends per their schedule, with reduced daily office requirements while maintaining work accountability.

Team-Based Hybrid Work

Organizations maintain traditional office access with shared resources while allowing employee autonomy over time allocation and departmental focus selection.

Hybrid Working for Continuous Development

Employees work remotely while participating in employer-sponsored education or training, with salary adjustments offsetting course expenses.

To help you better understand how the hybrid working approach works in practice, let’s look at a couple of real-life examples here:

• Citigroup allows employees to work remotely half of the time and come into the office for the other half of the time
• Microsoft gives employees options: they can either go by the 50/50 model or, alternatively, ask for their managers’ approvals for different models
• Amazon gives leadership full power to decide which work model works best for their team

Hybrid Work in a Post-COVID World

At this point, a large part of the office-working population of the world is still working remotely, one way or another. If at the beginning of the pandemic many employees and managers were skeptical on whether or not this would work, statistics now prove that working from home isn’t that bad after all.

It’s not perfect either, which is precisely why allowing people to meet at the office (at least every now and again) is important for the health of your organization. Hybrid teams can experience the best of both worlds: they can have the flexibility they need and a steady life/work balance, as well as the social and organizational elements that come with working in an office.

Calling everyone into the office after more than 18 months spent under a blanket in their living rooms seems very much like an impossible mission, in many cases. Some employees are happy to put on their office pants and come back to a more “normal” 9 to 5, but it is also easy to understand why not everyone is excited by the possibility.

Some may just find the commute tremendously difficult. Some may just think working from their home office is more productive. And many are probably still wary of the virus that has turned the world to a 180 in a matter of weeks.

In these situations, getting employees’ buy-in for the new hybrid workplace experience is of the highest importance – and achieving this is largely based on three main pillars.

The Benefits of the Hybrid Working Model

Understanding the advantages of the hybrid work model is important not only for the high-level elements of running a business, but also when you want to make sure your team is on your side when it comes to switching from a full-remote model to a hybrid one.

Remote work has its benefits, and there’s no point in denying it. Likewise, office work has its own benefits too. In between the two, the hybrid work model comes with its own series of advantages, including (but not limited to):

Offering Employees the Flexibility They Need

Hybrid work replaces rigid 9-to-5 schedules with employee-controlled attendance, enabling personal-professional separation.

Empowering Employees

Active participation in meetings and collaborative projects increases accountability, involvement, and confidence, mitigating face-to-face workplace experience anxiety.

Allowing Teams to Control Their Schedule

“Employees have complete control over their schedules,” working comfortably without timestamp pressure.

Adapting to the Needs of the Organization

Organizational flexibility increases through employee agency, potentially boosting productivity and results.

Saving Money on Operating Costs

Reduced office expenses (rent, utilities) without eliminating workspace options for employees needing office access.

Better Employee Experience

All of this culminates in a better employee experience . Employees work at preferred paces with improved time efficiency, enhancing overall workplace experience.

Understanding the Hybrid Workforce

Aside from understanding the benefits of hybrid work, you must also understand the specific challenges of attracting, developing, and retaining a hybrid workforce. After all, what would your hybrid work model be without the people that make it up?

A hybrid workforce comprises simultaneously remote and office-based employees with “recognized titles and regular hours.”

Offering office flexibility paradoxically improves experience—stressed employees address concerns more effectively in-office.

What Do Hybrid Employees Want?

Statistics show “an overwhelming 83% of people prefer a workplace strategy that provides them with the balance between remote work and office work.” Hybrid employees like this working model because it provides them with numerous benefits (including the ones already mentioned in this article). Flexibility in the workplace is, by far, one of the leading advantages people appreciate when they are given the opportunity to work on a hybrid model.

Beyond flexibility preferences, people in the hybrid workforce are no different from other employees. They want the same basic things:

• They want to grow
• They want to be heard
• They want to be paid fairly
• They want to feel like they have a purpose
• They want to be autonomous

Meeting these needs builds connection, loyalty, and efficiency while encouraging employee commitment to organizational changes.

Managing, Engaging, and Leading a Hybrid Team

In many ways, managing a hybrid team is not very different from managing a remote or an in-office one. The specific challenges that come with a hybrid workforce are not to be overseen – but they are not to be thought of as impossible to overcome either.

Here are some of the essential tips to keep in mind:

Make People Feel Excited about Hybrid Work

First of all, if people aren’t excited about working on a hybrid model, it’s going to be a lot harder to get them to stick around. How can they stay if they don’t even want to be there in the first place? That’s why building excitement for your new hybrid work model is going to be at the top of your list. Make an announcement, make a post on social media, talk about the benefits, ask for people’s opinions - do whatever you have to do in order to get your message out there and get people excited about what you’re doing.

Prepare Your Employees for Hybrid Work

Aside from building excitement, the next thing you need to do is prepare your employees for what’s coming their way. Tell them exactly what their schedules will look like.

Make Your Office More Employee-Centric

“Giving employees the option to take advantage of their hybrid work” enables comfort while maintaining office benefits. Technology facilitates smooth transitions—"From meeting room booking software to the devices you equip your office with ," tools help teams focus effectively. That means you can more easily get people excited about coming back into the office.

Show People Their Contributions Make a Difference

Demonstrate impact rather than routine task shuffling, particularly during initial implementation.

Make People Feel Safe at Work

COVID-19 concerns persist despite vaccination progress. Implement social distancing and hygiene measures to provide “peace of mind,” significantly impacting well-being and productivity. It is easy to understand why many employees would feel wary about going back into an office.

Practice Good Leadership

People embrace new initiatives when leadership is trusted. Strong leadership secures team support for organizational changes.

Regardless of the issue at hand, getting buy-in from your team members on new policies and work models is not easy. It’s definitely not impossible either, especially when it comes to something that can be as beneficial as hybrid work is. With a bit of effort, good people skills, and the right tech at your disposal, moving towards a hybrid working model will be the best thing you can ever do for yourself, your team, and your business.

We like to imagine historical moments as huge crossroads in people’s lives, as places and times where everyone is struck by Earth-shattering, life-altering epiphanies. In reality, though, history happens every day – and what we are witnessing now, in a (post?)-pandemic world is probably one of the most paradigm-shifting moments of our generation.

Are you ready to make the leap and adapt to the “hybrid normal”?