Hybrid work may seem like a meeting point between the two extremes of remote work and regular office hours, but it is proving to be counterintuitive for many. Contrary to the expression of ‘best of both worlds, it is evoking a feeling of dismay among employees after two long years of remote work due to the pandemic. But with the infection rates seemingly under control, many companies are insisting that employees report to the office at least for some days in the week.
For many, it is costing them the healthy workday routine that they had developed over the last two years during their remote work tenure. An account of a media company assistant featured in the Washington Post states how a Pennsylvania-based woman has to restrict her walking, cooking, and other leisurely activities only for weekends without adding any value to her work. This is simply because for three days of the week she has to spend an hour driving to the office which leaves her fatigued.
Unlike this media assistant for other workers, it is more than just an hour and fatigue, with more and more companies including majors like Google adopting the part remote and part office set up. Some say that organizing their office hardware is a task as they have to shift between two workstations in a span of days.
And this system is touted to change as market research firm Forrester predicts that while 60% of all offices will elect for hybrid work culture, 20% of them will be forced to a re-think.
The Washington Post article quotes a software engineer at Google, who is also part of the workers’ union, expressing his disappointment over the apparent unilateral decision by the company to switch to this hybrid work setting.
Another situation arising out of this hybrid work setting is the lack of consensus over choosing which days to report to the office among workers. This is leading to many turning up to their offices and finding themselves alone negating the advantages of an office presence.