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Hybrid work models are currently trending, but not all hybrid schedules are created equal in terms of structure or popularity. A new survey conducted by Zoom and Reworked Insights, a publication that explores the changing workplace, indicates that hybrid is the most prevalent workplace model both globally and specifically in North America.
Out of the six specific types of hybrid arrangements analyzed in the report, two have emerged as the most favored by global organizations according to their leaders: scheduled hybrid and flextime hybrid, with 25% and 22% of leader respondents favoring them, respectively.
Scheduled hybrid, according to the report, means there are "set days or times" when employees must work either in the office or remotely, while flextime hybrid means employees "choose the hours they work, but they must still come into the office for certain meetings or collaborative sessions."
These are the two most popular hybrid options among knowledge workers, too. But here, flextime hybrid ranked the highest, with 25 percent of employees saying that if they were to change jobs, they would "consider" this model in a new employer versus 23 percent for scheduled hybrid.
Experts have previously told Inc. that consistency -- knowing you're going to see your team when you come to the office -- can be crucial for hybrid work arrangements. "Otherwise," Jim Harter, chief workplace scientist at Gallup, told Inc., "it's chaotic, and people continue to regret the commute."
The other, less popular types of hybrid environments included in the survey were schedules based on workers' locations, roles, or outcomes. For instance, with an outcome-based hybrid, workers can work remotely "if they meet specific performance criteria or project deadlines," according to the report. Just 5 percent of leaders said this was the closest match for their organization's workplace model, according to the survey.
Another relatively uncommon option: is rotational hybrid, in which "teams or departments rotate between working remotely and working in the office," with just 4 percent of leader respondents.
That said, considering team-specific needs in general can come with its advantages, experts have told Inc. For instance, Micah Remley, CEO of the Boston-based workplace platform Robin, told Inc. that the "work of an engineer is very different from a customer service team's," and so forth, so the "synchronous work they need to do together looks very different, probably has different time requirements associated with it."
Indeed, some leaders continue to evaluate the pros and cons of different hybrid arrangements, with most leaders in the report agreeing that their model will become "slightly" or "much more" flexible for employees over the next two years. "To be competitive in today's world," the report states, "organizations must embrace hybrid models while also staying open to new workplace models."