And the Winner Is…Hybrid Work
Proponents of Either Fully Onsite or Fully Remote Work Are Compromising
Post-pandemic, employers have begun the squeeze to get employees back onsite. Meanwhile, workers, many of whom have come to love working remotely, are resisting. The battle lines are drawn.
That said, a solution is taking shape. It appears to be a compromise and is called “hybrid work.” Hybrid work is where the employee works part-time in the office and part-time remotely, such as at coworking sites. The chart documents the trend. Looking at the first two quarters of 2023, full-time work continues to decrease, and hybrid work continues to increase.
Scoop Technologies tracks the trend and reports that employers are “splitting the difference,” requiring workers to be onsite 2.5 days a week. The most frequent days for in-office work are Tuesday and Wednesday, with the most frequent days of remote work being Monday and Friday.
For employees, remote work’s appeals are many: reduced commutes (which cuts travel costs and pollution), the ability to live in cheaper neighborhoods more distant from the city core, flexibility to handle childcare and medical appointments, and fewer distractions from chatty coworkers.
“Many workers who use our remote working site love the freedom and feel more productive,” says Michelle Sparks, office manager of My Space Downtown, a Panama City-based coworking space.
Meanwhile, technology is supporting hybrid work. Video calls, inter-company document transfers and text privacy safeguards—along with advances in augmented and virtual reality—all make remote work almost as rich an experience as face-to-face.
Remote worksites are accommodating hybrid workers with flexible arrangements
Remote worksites, or coworking sites as they are called, have become a haven for both independent workers (such as freelancers) and full-time employees who have negotiated a hybrid work arrangement.
To meet everyone’s varying needs, coworking sites are offering a range of contracts to better accommodate these new hybrid workers. “Remote workers want flexibility,” Sparks says. “At My Space Downtown, we offer daily space rental, 5-days-a-month rental where the worker picks the days, or unlimited day contracts. We have an arrangement for any situation that best suits the worker’s circumstances.”
My Space Downtown offers private office rentals, conference rooms for in-person or virtual meetings or webinars, a kitchen area, outdoor seating, wi-fi and copy machines. “We’ll even rent mailboxes for those workers wanting an address separate from their home or office.”
Michelle says some workers follow a routine of fixed days in the office and fixed days at coworking sites. Others need to vary their schedule from week to week. “We give them that option,” she says.
My Space Downtown embraces coworkers from diverse industries and diverse backgrounds. “We create and nurture a workspace that is welcoming for people of all backgrounds—technology, service, even retail,” Sparks says. “As a result, I think we see more collaboration among workers at our site.”
The future of work is still being sorted out
Remote and hybrid work policies remain a work in progress. Smaller companies, under 500 employees, are more likely to entertain remote work policies. Larger companies favor on-site work, but typically realize they must offer hybrid arrangements to attract employees.
The movement to remote work is changing the real estate landscape in cities, too. When companies abandon fixed desks assigned to one person and move to flex desks, they require smaller real estate footprints. Office vacancy rates in larger U.S. cities are reaching 50% of pre-pandemic levels.
Meanwhile, coworking spaces are growing at the rate of 11-13%.