After more than two years of the pandemic, the world of work has been transformed to a great extent. Many employees and employers have had to adapt to new ways of working, and they are now considering which work mode will be most suitable for the future.
According to Mercer’s Global Talent Trends 2022 study, 80% of executives in Latin America believe that the learning culture is better “working in-person.” This contrasts with 68% of workers who believe that organizations will be more successful with remote or hybrid work.
In this article, we will discuss the three most popular modes of work after the pandemic.
Hybrid Work
Hybrid work has become increasingly popular during the pandemic. This mode offers a combination of office and remote work. Workers can alternate between working from home and working in the office based on their personal needs and preferences.
According to a survey by WeWork Mexico, 85% of employees see hybrid work as the ideal post-pandemic work model. The results were clear: hybrid work is a model that is here to stay, according to the results, and provides a work-life balance for employees.
Hybrid work offers greater flexibility and autonomy for workers while maintaining a presence in the office to collaborate with colleagues and participate in important meetings. This mode can also help reduce office costs and improve employee satisfaction and productivity.
One of the main reasons for opting for the hybrid model today is to reduce or avoid commuting to workplaces, as traffic and long travel times are one of the major disincentives to going to the office.
It is worth mentioning that the hybrid model is already at a high level of competition since, according to Álvaro Villar, General Manager at WeWork, giving the flexibility to work from home and attend offices is already an understood value, in his words “Companies have to adopt the hybrid work model if they want to be competitive in a labor market increasingly marked by digital transformation and non-presentiality.”
Remote work
During the pandemic, many companies had to face this work system for the first time due to the health emergency. For some of these organizations, the test was successful, given that the type of activity, infrastructure, and preparation they already had allowed them to migrate to this model without too many surprises.
With remote work, employees work from home or from any other place outside the office. This modality offers greater freedom and flexibility for workers since it allows them to work from anywhere with an internet connection.
Remote work brings benefits for both the company and the employee, as it reduces costs and time, promotes fixed objectives, therefore increasing productivity and stimulating dynamics and innovation. A study by the consulting firm “Meta4” confirmed that the advantages of telecommuting are reflected in a reduction of up to 60% in absenteeism, a savings of 56% in travel expenses, a growth in production of 56%, a 20% reduction in employee turnover, and a 20% increase in wages for workers on average.
For the worker, remote work represents a higher quality of life, investing less or no time and money in commuting to an office, being able to manage schedules according to their preferences, and spending more quality time with their family.
Full-time office work: returning to normalcy
Full-time office work is the traditional work modality where employees work in the office during fixed hours. With the distribution of vaccines and the decrease in COVID-19 cases in some places, some companies have started considering returning to this work modality. However, adapting to this work model after almost two years of remote work can be challenging.
The normalcy that companies intend to return to with the return to offices and fixed schedules has gone and will not return, says Sergio Nouvel, CEO of the Get on Board platform, in an interview with Reporte Índigo. “For all companies that work with knowledge, with information, there is no pre-pandemic normalcy to return to. People who have experienced that remote work is possible and realize that, if they are forced, there is not much foundation.”
While there are still industries where the presence of workers is essential, such as raw material exploitation or product manufacturing, Nouvel also highlights that different service sectors, such as finance or retail, are increasingly digital, which also allows greater flexibility for their workers.
It’s not really office versus home; it’s about being able to vary and alternate depending on the day. This is true for everyone. The ability to choose not only whether or not to go to the office, but also which office to go to and at what hours, are factors that influence productivity. That’s why companies that have embraced remote work do it from the perspective of flexibility.
The future space is not a single place but a combination of options, the ability to work from an office, from home, from different cities, and from different countries. “Today there is a transition; decision-making used to be done by a CEO, and today that decision-making is in the employee,” adds the executive of WeWork Mexico.
Thus, what would be the best work model currently?
There is no single answer to this question since each company is different and has specific needs. Some companies may benefit more from hybrid work, while others may prefer full-time office work or remote work. The important thing is that companies are open to the possibility of different work modalities and adapt to the needs of their workers. With the pandemic, it has become clear that flexibility is essential to maintaining business continuity and employee well-being.
In summary, after the pandemic, hybrid work, remote work, and full-time office work have become popular options.
