Since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it forced many business owners to reconsider how their businesses operated! For many organisations, this meant their staff working from home. As time has gone on, there has been a massive shift from office-based work and we see a lot of businesses allowing a hybrid way of working…
So What is Hybrid Working?
In simple, Hybrid working is a type of flexible working where an employee splits their time between: the work place, and remote working (i.e. their home or other venue)
Advantages of Hybrid Working?
Since the pandemic, we have all made huge adjustments and changes to our lives and the way we work. Hybrid working was not an option for many people prior to the pandemic, however, it is now seen much more. There are some great benefits to hybrid working for both the employee and organisation:
For the employee, a better work-life balance can be created. The ability to focus on your tasks with fewer distractions will allow greater productivity. With commuting time and costs cut, employees will have more time for friends and family. It is important however, to ensure you are still communicating with your colleagues so the business can run smoothly and you are able to maintain a social side of work.
For organisations and the employer, there are plenty of benefits too, including saving on office space, the cost of rent, office supplies and other business expenses. In a 2020 SurveyMonkey Study, it showed that employees who worked remotely reported feeling happier than their colleagues who remained working in the office. This shows a higher level of job satisfaction, reduced stress levels and higher productivity levels from their staff.
Working purely from home is not for everyone, “it can be distracting and isolating, buta hybrid workplace mitigates many of the downsides of pure remote working”
A Hybrid model allows you to experience the best of both worlds and allows employee flexibility.
How Hybrid Working has personally allowed me to continue to work…
I have worked for Cooper Golding since 2019, exactly a year before the pandemic started. I worked in the main office 5 days a week, Monday-Friday and I travelled by car every day… (that was normal right?). When the pandemic started, I worked from home full-time at the beginning and as restrictions were lifted, we started to go back into the office a couple of days a week, intermittently.
In 2021, my little boy was born and I took a year of maternity leave. 9 months quickly flew by and I had to start thinking about whether I was going to go back to my full time job. With weeks of figuring out how much child care would cost, how easy it would be to go back into full time work and juggling my new family life, I decided going back to full-time work was not the right thing for me and my family.
I was very lucky to have been offered a part-time role with Cooper Golding, allowing me to be flexible and work from home. However, I also wanted to explore different options too, but still wanted to work for CG.We had talked about working on more of a consultant type basis and after discussions, we were able to come to an agreement, which suited me down to the ground.This has helped me out so much as I didn’t have to give up my job, I am able to take home an income whilst looking after my family and explore different options. I can do some of the work at times that suits me, sometimes during the day, but also sometimes at night and weekends when my son has gone to bed. Cooper Golding are great, that I have set objectives and then I can do the work in my own time, it is working perfectly. It has saved me money on driving to work and parking, whilst also allowing me to spend that extra time and money on my family. I still go into the office occasionally to catch up with meetings and to see colleagues, and it’s a good chance for me to have adult conversation…😊
I am so thankful to be given the opportunity to work in this way, whilst being able to look after my son and not have to put him in childcare. It can be challenging sometimes, but I manage my time well and am super productive working from home.
We would love to know your thoughts on Hybrid working and if it has helped you or not?!
