48 www.hrreporter.com
IT'S TIME TO GET AHEAD OF
THE HYBRID WORKPLACE
"I NEVER THOUGHT I'd miss the office," is one of
those phrases we keep hearing during the COVID-19
pandemic. Months of working from home, sometimes
having to balance child-care duties or managing
isolation, have left people up and down the
organizational hierarchy longing for a return to the
office. Across Canada, offices have begun to reopen
with some of the team in the office and some still
working from home, following social distancing
measures to create a hybrid workplace. The hybrid
office poses a new question for HR leaders: What will
HYBRID WORKPLACES
LEADERSHIP SERIES
A mixture of remote and
in-office work poses real
risks to culture. Thoughtful
communication is key in
keeping culture working
a split workforce do to your organizational culture?
Darci Taylor, principal at HR Compass, has been
working on answers to that question. She says that,
poorly managed, a hybrid workforce risks creating
a bifurcated culture. In the face of a pandemic,
employees must not feel penalized if they are unable to
return to the office. Done right, a hybrid office is a real
opportunity to create better access and choice among
employees. Done wrong, it can create inequality in the
workforce, leaving remote workers feeling isolated from
office culture and even hampering their career growth.
Tom De Iulis is the SVP of Product + Strategy at Venngo Inc.
