Hybrid working might be good for the bottom line – but it’s good for you too

As momentum continues to build behind hybrid working, small businesses and start-ups are seeing a positive impact on their bottom line. But what about you? Here’s how the individual can reap the rewards too.

Two years after the pandemic kick-started the shift to hybrid working, all the signs are that it’s good news for the bottom line. While that’s clearly a relief for small businesses and start-ups, it’s far from the only factor in the great workplace debate. It’s also an opportunity to think of yourself for a change.

The idea that we’ll all go back en masse to the daily commute seems unlikely. Many businesses have already made a permanent switch to hybrid, and others are embracing it. As a manager or team leader in a small business, you’ve been at pains to protect both business productivity as well as employee wellbeing. But what about you: how does hybrid suit you, personally and professionally?

Better balance means better business
Growing a new business is exhausting enough without a global pandemic and multiple lockdowns. Having pulled the business through these last few years, you sure don’t want all that effort to go to waste now. But flexible working doesn’t have to mean taking your eye off the prize, it might actually make success more achievable.

Some surveys suggests that more than half of business owners have experienced burnout over the past year. Not only do long hours and late nights in the office quickly lead to exhaustion, but when you are home, you’re often too tired to engage properly with hobbies, family or friends. You lose, professionally and personally. Even if it works in the short term, how sustainable is it really?

Working from home won’t necessarily make it any easier growing a business, but it might make it less tiring (44% less tiring according to Gartner) and therefore more sustainable. Flexible working makes it possible to give yourself a work-life balance ‘reset’ and could be the start of a new, rewarding way of life, where you get to nurture the business and your personal life too.

So what does balance look like for you?
The shift to hybrid has been compared to other seminal moments in workplace history, such as the industrial and digital revolutions. Indeed, the pandemic presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reshape the world of work around your own motivations. But how will you shape it?

You’ve probably spent time understanding what motivates people in your team, but here’s your chance to ask what motivates you:

Family: If you want to prioritise more family time and less commuting, you’re not alone. According to McKinsey most employees want to work from home at least three days a week and more than 25% would consider switching employers if their organisation returns to fully on-site work.

Team: If your motivation lies in managing a healthy, happy, fulfilled workforce or team, hybrid/remote working would certainly support goals around wellbeing and a stronger sense of human connection. According to a new report from Tracking Happiness, remote working increases happiness by as much as 20%.

Diversity & Inclusion: If your motivation lies in building a fairer, more inclusive culture, then hybrid working can help there too. IWG hails a new era for equality, saying “If executed well, the hybrid model has the power to transform working life for women.” A LinkedIn survey found that greater workplace flexibility could help open up new employment opportunities for 1.3 million people in the UK with disabilities.

Sustainability: If your motivation lies in sustainability, there’s a strong argument to support a flexible working pattern. According to IWG hybrid helps lower your carbon footprint in several ways: teams aren’t commuting as regularly, less lighting, heating and air conditioning is required. So if you’ve set environmental targets for your business, with hybrid working, you’ll be well on your way to meeting them.

Growth: As a start-up stalled by the pandemic, you might be looking to take your business to the next level this year with a hiring push. Research from IWG shows the pandemic has had such an effect on employees’ priorities that they would forgo a 10% pay rise in favour of retaining the option to work remotely.

Stop wondering if hybrid will work
The time is past for wondering whether hybrid working is good for business (it is), better for the bottom line (that too) or about whether staff prefer it (they do). For business leaders with teams to manage and targets to meet – it’s time to look at what hybrid can do for you.

Take a look at how Spaces can help you build and maintain your work culture while harnessing the power of hybrid working.

Find out more about wellbeing and work life balance with hybrid

Smart ways to boost your wellbeing when you return to the office

Six ‘habit hacks’ to improve your hybrid work-life balance

How to maintain your company culture in the hybrid world