Are you ready for hybrid work?
Do you feel that you and the SME you work for or manage are prepared to work in a hybrid way?
Have the changes brought about by the pandemic in your work environment altered the way you work? Do you feel that you have adapted optimally to these changes?
Would you like to continue teleworking several days a week? Or are you more of a daily office worker?
Whatever your answer, EURES has published an article on how companies and their employees can adapt to this new hybrid work model, which -it seems- is here to stay.
According to a new survey by Eurofound, after the pandemic, most EU workers would prefer to work from home at least several days a week. In this context, as the article mentions, “this hybrid model presents new opportunities for companies to establish novel ways of working”.
But what does it mean to be “hybrid” in this context? How can workers and companies adapt to this new trend?
As the article points out, “for most companies, the introduction of hybrid working will require a significant shift in the work culture and developing new policies and practices. Businesses who do not support flexible forms of working risk having increased employee turnover and reduced employee engagement. They can also seem less attractive to jobseekers and potential hires”.
At this point, what can companies do about it? Here are some keys:
– “Doing a risk assessment to explore the potential impact of hybrid working not only on their staff, but also on their company”.
– “Ensure equal treatment, making sure the company’s guidelines are fair to all employees and do not discriminate against anyone”.
– “Build employer−employee trust. This means ensuring your employees are safe and completing their tasks is more important than tracking how many hours they spend actively working”.
At MobiliseSME, we have promoted hybrid work and, with it, the flexibility of the measures, so that collaborations continued to take place during this year marked by COVID-19.
A health crisis of this magnitude has not prevented many people and SMEs from joining us during this first year of MobiliseSME. We have all contributed to this and, certainly, the hybrid work and the great versatility of our participants have been the key.
