Around 44% of UK employees are now remote or hybrid workers, it’s become a standard option.
And that’s changing the dynamic of workplaces. Not only in terms of empty desks but employee voice and relationships, because so many of the usual processes are based on the assumption that people will be working in the same place, at the same time.
So while hybrid working has become a very practical option for delivering flexibility — it works — it’s also leading to new spaces and disconnections with consequences that are yet to be fully understood.
The disconnects are happening in a number of ways. Most obviously, there are fewer opportunities for informal encounters, the chats in the kitchen and catch-ups in the corridor that help to keep people in touch, form relationships, share knowledge and information that would otherwise stay in silos, and feel they are part of a team with a clear purpose. The honesty and depth of face-to-face communication can be lost.
There are plenty of options when it comes to digital channels for instant communication and collaboration but they can’t paper over the gaps. Not everyone uses the same apps or uses them in the same way. The nature of digital media, the visibility and trails it creates, make people cautious about what they say. They might keep to an official persona and limit their comments to what’s acceptable rather than being themselves or raising concerns. Which is not a good situation when it comes to problem-solving, challenging norms and innovation, or picking up on when employees are struggling. Where do the doubts and niggles and uncertainties of employees end up going?
HR can compensate. They can make sure that more is made of the time when hybrid workers are in the workplace, with time set aside for team get-togethers, team events and activities. They can look at which digital tools are being used and how, and what works best for encouraging the mix of the formal and more personal interactions, and what will allow employee voices to be heard. Maybe training will help people make more of the technologies available.
There’s also the need to consider how remote an hybrid workers can discuss more sensitive issues at work. Are they more likely to bottle up problems because starting conversations has become more of a leap, more unnatural? There need to be obvious, well-supported ways for arranging confidential conversations, whether that’s just making sure line managers are encouraging those conversations, setting aside face-to-face time, or promoting the use of early mediation services to deal with grievances.
All the open channels for contact are irrelevant, though, without the all-important underpinning of psychological safety. When employees and their line managers share a sense of being able to speak up, take risks if they need to, feel comfortable in bringing all of themselves into work, then any kind of interaction will be much easier, digital or otherwise. A measure like the Psychological Safety Index is a useful way of testing the state of relationships and attitudes, along with Neutral Assessment among teams (where each team member gets the chance to talk about their personal experiences in confidence, leading to a report from an independent expert on issues and solutions to move forwards).
Organisations need to be equipped with updated skills to deal with the new environment where hybrid is the accepted norm. Our experience has shown us the importance of encouraging a foundation of Conversational Integrity (CI) skills in workplaces, the awareness of the role of good conversations in relationships, how the quality of conversations changes the dynamics, and the huge role they play on outcomes of situations. Core skills for CI include ‘situational awareness’, ‘curiosity’, ‘reflective listening’, ‘empathy’ and ‘self awareness’.
Lynne Thorne, Director of Business Development at workplace relationships specialist, CMP, www.cmp-solutions.com
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