de Hybrid work is a model that lets employees mix working from the office and anywhere else, giving them and their employers flexibility to decide what’s best. It offers a lot more freedom in how they manage their work schedule. With this approach, workers get a new kind of connection to the office and view the workplace as a network of people rather than just a physical space.
Major corporations, including Atlassian, Peloton, and Salesforce, all recognize the benefits to hybrid working and have been successfully using the model for years now. Today, we’ll discuss five key hybrid work advantages to assure you that it’s the superior way to work.
Advantage #1: Greater Productivity
A hybrid work model gives employees flexibility to work to their strengths. For example, those who thrive in focused, independent tasks will flourish while working remotely. Team players will dive into office meetings and collaborative sessions.
One of the ways companies can facilitate this ideal environment is through the use of hybrid work software. This software helps in managing the complexities of a hybrid work model, from scheduling to resource allocation. By utilizing hybrid work software, managers can ensure that employees have the necessary tools and resources to maximize their productivity and well-being.
Workspace analytics allows companies to make informed decisions about space management, ensuring that meeting rooms, desks, and other resources are utilized efficiently. This not only enhances the workplace experience for employees but also supports the overall productivity and efficiency of the organization.
Example From Atlassian
Atlassian, a top player in the Australian tech scene, claims its flexible hybrid work setup is a major reason for its success. They let employees work from home or in their offices, only meeting in person for important planning sessions. This strategy is working well, as shown by their impressive fourth-quarter revenue of $939.1 million for the 2022-2023 financial year.
Founders added that some business leaders thought they were losing something important by doing this, but they didn’t agree. They see an opportunity to lead. They’re one of the few big companies fully embracing remote work, and their customers and other companies are looking to them for guidance.
Advantage #2: Higher Job Satisfaction and Better Schedules
Giving employees freedom and trust is instrumental to their happiness. When team members have control over how, where, and when they work, their satisfaction soars.
In a remote setup, it’s easy for employers and managers to make assumptions about others, so companies must choose to assume the best and trust everyone is acting responsibly. When they do, it fosters a sense of autonomy and empowerment at work, which ultimately contributes to a more motivated and engaged workforce. Even for those coming back to the office, it’s vital they feel trusted to manage their work independently, without constant supervision.
Example From Peloton
At Peloton, they believe everyone performs best when they have the tools and resources for a balanced life. To help achieve this balance, Peloton has hybrid work schedules for most roles, allowing employees to work from home two days a week. This doesn’t apply to on-site roles like retail or member support, and working hours can be flexible depending on the job and team.
To enjoy the advantages of hybrid working fully, Peloton also encourages employees to take time off. There are clear standards for managing calendars, communication, and meetings to make sure everyone has breaks during their day.
“We prioritize mental well-being,” says Jessica Lipkin, Senior Recruiter. For example, she books scheduled breaks for herself after intense work sessions so she can stay refreshed and ready to go. The same rule, or rather suggestion, applies to everyone else at work.
Advantage #3: Work Flexibility
Employees today increasingly prefer flexible work arrangements. To retain top talent, companies need to adapt. Hybrid work is a great solution: it maintains a physical office for culture while allowing employees the freedom to balance home and office work.
With one of the hybrid work model advantages being flexible arrangements, it appeals to both employers and employees alike. Employees enjoy more freedom and the ability to work in person when needed, while employers maintain a competitive environment.
To facilitate this, companies are leveraging tools like work schedule planning and desk booking systems. These tools help streamline the process of managing flexible work arrangements, ensuring that both in-office and remote work can be effectively coordinated.
Work schedule planning enables organizations to optimize their workforce by accurately predicting staffing needs and scheduling employees accordingly. Meanwhile, desk booking systems allow employees to reserve their workspace in advance, ensuring they have a designated place to work when they come into the office.
These technologies not only enhance the hybrid work experience but also contribute to better workspace optimization, making sure that office resources are used efficiently. As a result, both employees and employers benefit from a well-organized, flexible, and productive work environment.
Example From Salesforce
At Salesforce, flexibility is key with their Return & Remote approach. Here’s how it works:
- Office-flexible — Teams go to the office three days a week for work, meetings, or events.
- Customer-facing — Teams spend four days a week with customers or in person with each other.
- Technical — Product and engineering teams meet in person ten days each quarter for releases and team-building.
- Remote — Employees can work remotely if their manager agrees.
Leaders decide who needs to be in the office and who can work remotely from home. Engineers might need more in-person time each quarter, while sales teams often benefit from regular face-to-face interactions at work. Since rolling out these guidelines in February 2023, office attendance has jumped by over 40% globally.
They also understand that not every job needs office time. Employees can switch to full-time remote work if it makes sense for their role. Previously, 18% of employees worked remotely, and now it’s up to 27% and growing.
Advantage #4: Improved Сorporate Сulture
Next on the list of advantages of the hybrid work model is corporate culture. The idea that office interactions alone sustain company culture misses the point, say researchers. Being physically close isn’t the point; it’s more about feeling valued and seen emotionally at work.
They found that feeling emotionally connected boosts employees’ bond with their workplace culture by 27%, whereas just being nearby doesn’t do much.
With fewer interactions for remote and hybrid workers, every interaction packs a punch. Companies seeking hybrid work benefits should also think twice before scheduling unnecessary meetings, respecting everyone's time and contributions. When employees feel appreciated, they naturally feel more connected to the company’s environment.
Example From HubSpot
Eimear Marrinan, Director of Culture at HubSpot, talked about how in today’s digital age, where we’re always connected through social media and tech, many employees surprisingly feel more distant than ever. They’ve learned that it’s not about more interactions at work but about making them more meaningful.
HubSpot’s hybrid structure includes fun events like Bring Your Family to Work Day and the Great Ice Cream Social. These events are effective at building a real sense of community and strengthening personal bonds among employees, whether they’re chatting face-to-face or online.
Fun fact from their report: Remote workers are more likely to know their coworkers’ family or pets’ names (62%) compared to in-office workers (54%). This proves that strong bonds can and do form outside the office.
Advantage #5: Lower Business Costs
The traditional large office in the city center is fading away. With employees working part-time from home and nearby flexible spaces, companies can shrink their office footprint. Instead of housing 1,000 employees at once, they might now only need space for 200 or 300.
In a recent IWG survey, many CFOs said they were backing hybrid work to save costs. They were moving to shared offices or co-working spaces and downsizing company-owned offices to boost profits. 64% of the surveyed CFOs have already cut office space for hybrid setups, and 74% were planning to use shared offices or flexible spaces in the future to enjoy the advantages of hybrid working.
Examples From IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, and More
In terms of business costs, there are two arguments: some think remote work saves money, while, according to others, office work is seen to benefit the financial bottom line more.
Here are some impressive benefits companies have seen with remote work:
- Alpine Access: 30% more sales, 90% fewer customer complaints, and 88% lower turnover.
- IBM: Saved $50 million in real estate costs.
- McKesson: Saves $2 million annually.
- Nortel: Saves $100,000 per employee by not relocating them.
- Dow Chemical and Nortel: Over 30% savings on non-real estate costs.
- Sun Microsystems: Saves $68 million annually on real estate.
At the same time, Microsoft found that working from home led to less collaboration and more isolated teams. While email communication increased, it became harder for employees to share complex ideas remotely.
Some top CEOs agree about the need for in-person work:
- Amazon CEO Andy Jassy: Collaborating and inventing is easier and more effective when we’re in person.
- Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon: For our business, which relies on innovation and collaboration, remote work isn’t ideal.
- Disney CEO Bob Iger: In a creative business like ours, there’s no substitute for connecting, observing, and creating with peers in person or learning from leaders and mentors.
What do you do in the end, then? That’s right — you combine both approaches with hybrid work and take advantage of cost-saving measures from both.
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Transitioning to hybrid work can be a lengthy process — months or even a year of planning and tweaking. But doing it alone might not get you the results you want and could mean spending more time perfecting the processes. You might not even see the benefits of hybrid work as described here if it isn’t implemented properly.Alternatively, teaming up with pros in hybrid work will streamline your transition. Just one technological solution can solve most of your concerns — an automated office management system.
