As a hybrid employee, you have a flexible work arrangement that allows you to split your time between working on-site or remotely. With such flexible work models, you can have the best of both worlds — social interaction and collaboration in the office and focus and autonomy when working from home. However, this hybrid approach comes with unique work challenges if not managed properly. Avoiding these common pitfalls will help you succeed when working in a hybrid environment.
Top 4 Mistakes Every Hybrid Worker Should Avoid
Transitioning to a hybrid schedule often requires some level of adjustment. To thrive in this modern, flexible work model, you should avoid these four common mistakes:
1. Not Having Regular Communication With Other Team Members
Lack of regular communication with coworkers is one of the key challenges of working remotely. Without daily face-to-face interactions, which typically occur in office spaces, you miss out on organic conversations that build workplace rapport and align team members with organizational goals. Failure to communicate consistently can diminish your sense of community with peers.
If you feel disconnected from other team members, it's difficult to collaborate smoothly on projects. Over time, decreased personal connections can negatively affect employee engagement, employee productivity, and overall team performance.
Getting things done relies on team unity, so as a hybrid employee, you should plan regular communication with your team. Here are a few ways to increase team communication:
- Informal Video Calls: Schedule calls to catch up with remote team members and replicate some of the social bonding of being in the office.
- Weekly Check-ins: Ask remote managers to communicate one-on-one at least once a week.
- Automate Collaboration: Use collaboration tools like Slack to stay updated and participate in discussions.
Simple check-ins are essential for success in hybrid work because they help you increase social interaction and nurture relationships with team members.
2. Not Planning Their Hybrid Work Schedule
Another common mistake is failing to plan a hybrid work schedule. Many employees mistakenly adopt reactive scheduling attitudes, randomly choosing office or remote workdays based on shifting moods or preferences. However, this scattered approach proves problematic over time.
Without structure, your hybrid schedule falls out of balance between office and home time. Imbalances can decrease opportunities for planned in-person collaboration. Your spontaneity can also confuse managers who are trying to schedule in-person meetings based on employee availability.
Avoid productivity drops by planning out your flexible hybrid schedule in advance using tools like Scoop. Always map out consistent on-site office days for meetings in addition to uninterrupted remote time for focused work.
3. Not Defining a Flexible Work Arrangement With Managers
Neglecting to outline a clear hybrid work policy and work expectations with your manager constitutes another common mistake. Fuzzy guidelines around remote worker flexibility can cause tension on both sides. As an employee, you need defined policies granting you autonomy over scheduling decisions without repercussions. Simultaneously, managers require some structure to supervise hybrid teams effectively.
Have straightforward conversations with your manager to establish norms and boundaries for your hybrid arrangement. Clarify preferences for on-site office days to assist in planning team meetings. In addition, establish core hours for availability, so you're not expected to be online during evenings or weekends without advance notice. Defining these hybrid office work arrangements upfront will prevent confusion down the road.
4. Not Having the Right Software To Optimize Hybrid Work
Finally, failing to leverage the best technology severely restricts your hybrid work productivity. Juggling shifting locations alongside variable team schedules proves extremely difficult without specialized assistance. However, many employees mistakenly rely on makeshift solutions like calendars and basic productivity apps, which are often ill-equipped for flexible hybrid work models.
Instead, use purpose-built software like Scoop, which offers a user-friendly all-in-one platform to schedule and sync flexible multi-location team days. This reduces the headache of coordinating logistics, so you and your colleagues can automatically see who will overlap in the office. By aligning hybrid schedules painlessly, you can unlock your hybrid work potential.
For managers, Scoop facilitates easy oversight of hybrid workforce schedules through centralized visibility tools. The right software provides the missing structure and coordination for hybrid work success.
Embrace the Hybrid Work Model With the Best Technology
Trying to coordinate a seamless workflow across on-site and remote work environments can become frustrating. It can make you feel like you spend more time coordinating logistics than doing your actual job, but it doesn't have to be this way.
Scoop makes aligning flexible multi-location team schedules effortless. Rather than creating a disjointed patchwork of calendars, communication, and productivity software, Scoop streamlines your processes by integrating with your existing digital tools. It provides a scalable and easy-to-use platform for flexible hybrid employee experiences across distributed teams.
Stop juggling a myriad of consumer apps to complete your hybrid work. Increase productivity, connectivity, and job satisfaction by seamlessly coordinating your hybrid work arrangements. Scoop can help you maximize your hybrid flexibility without sacrificing productivity. Get started for free today.
