Opinions & Interviews

One of the many advantages of hybrid work is that it matches other working methods, such as flex office, coworking, nomadism, smart office, or the increasingly appealing digital workplace. Therefore, the “hybrid employee” does not necessarily have an office of their own on their company’s premises. 

Nostalgia about the “good old times” is a normal psychological coping mechanism in the face of a puzzling present that puts a lot of pressure for change moving forward. But the truth is that there’s no going back to the pre-pandemic normal exactly as we knew it.

With the hybrid model taking shape and employees slowly returning to the workplace in different scenarios, companies are looking to deploy frameworks for the healthy way of working of the future and some are already considering health performance indicators to confirm they are on the right track.

Some of the shortcomings of poor indoor air quality are already known. Research conducted by air quality authorities all over the world have shown time and again that indoor air can be more polluted than outdoor air and that effects on people can be significant. 

The office will remain crucial for businesses in the future, even though some may continue to allow employees to work remotely, and others will embrace the hybrid system as a long-term alternative for the post-pandemic way of working.

COVID-19 has fundamentally challenged and modified the way the global workforce interacts, socializes, and collaborates. Flexible working practices, including working from home, have been heavily adopted as the recent pandemic has forced a trial run of remote working for industries, businesses, and individuals across the entire world. 

Covid-19 didn’t just change the environments we work in, pushing the hybrid work model into overdrive, but it redesigned the core fundamentals of how we work and the skills we need to succeed, changing the leadership role in the process.

While the assumption that people in general and especially Gen Z would easily adjust to the transition to remote working, multiple studies have actually indicated otherwise. Research shows that most of us experienced major challenges during this shift, particularly in terms of productivity, mental health, skill development and team cohesion.