By Nigel Percy
There is a dark side to everything and hybrid workplace model is no exception to that. There is no doubt that the advantages of this workplace strategy are highly useful for the growth of an organization, but the disadvantages of the very strategy has the power to bring down a well established business. Therefore, it must be made sure that the hybrid workforce model is going to get implemented with proper supervision which in turn will ensure that the model is not getting exploited by the employees and thereby harming the organization in any way. Let’s take a good look at the reasons why hybrid work model might not work for an organization.
- Less Social Interaction – The employees working from their homes face the risk of getting depressed because they do not have the luxury to meet with their colleagues who are working from office and this sickens them. The lack of social interaction between both the teams has made it difficult for both the parties as they do not get enough chance to interact with each other, this is one of the major reasons why the productivity of employees witness a decline while working from home.
- Cyber Risks – The majority of work in a hybrid work model is done through the internet. The internet is not really a great example of the safest places in the world because there are so many looming virtual threats which can take down a well settle organization in a matter of seconds. The implementation of hybrid work model has heightened the risks of getting attacked virtually by a huge margin and that is why it is not really a safe option. The important data which an organization uses for their benefits can get hacked over an email and that would be bad because they would not know who they should blame for this loss.
- Workplace Politics – The work from home team might experience a bit more politics because naturally the managers would favor those who have chosen to work from office in these adverse conditions. This is not a healthy practice and should be condoled by the senior managers of the organization because it will reduce the efficiency with which the off-site team is working as they would feel that their work is inferior to that of the on-site team and is not getting the recognition that it deserves.
- Routine Maintenance – The lack of a proper routine at the workplace while a hybrid work model is in control has caused some serious troubles to the organization. There is no way that the managers can set-up a perfectly flawless routine for all their employees as those working from home have certain things to do when they come across them. For example, the virtual parents-teacher meeting can hinder the work of an individual because that meeting is important for their child’s growth and their attendance to that meeting makes them a good parent. In other similar situations, it gets really hard for the managers to maintain a schedule which would fit all their employees.
- Lack of Supervision – When a team is working from home, the likeliness of them getting exhausted and involving themselves in activities which do not concern the organization in any manner increases. This is because of the lack of individual supervision which is present in a decent amount for the on-site team. To make sure that it does not happen and the employees are always working during the working hours, the use of technologies like tracking software could be made.
- Burnout – Working for long hours on the same project for days and that too without much interaction with their teammates is sure to take a toll on an individual’s mind. That is why it is important to diversify the kind of work given to them so that the situation of burnout could be avoided. Burnout occurs when the employees feel like their work has become monotonous and they are not really contributing to anything in the organization. To avoid that from happening, managers should introduce programs which would help the employees understand their importance in the organization they are working for.
Upon going through the reasons which oppose the implementation of hybrid remote work model, you might think that it is all bad and it is not going to benefit your organization in any way. Well, if that is what you are thinking then you are wrong. As much as the model has its cons, it also have its advantages which are way stronger than their counterparts. Therefore, you must at least once implement this method at your offices to see if it is going to work out well or not. Try it, test it and then decide what you want to do with it.
