Hybrid work lets you work remotely and in person

In the bad old days, most companies asked you to work from a particular place. Maybe it was somewhere exciting, but for lots of people it was a bog-standard office. And you and your workmates had to be there every day. No exceptions.

“Remote work” is the opposite of that. And it’s been around for a while.

Rather than sharing a space with your colleagues, you do your job from a distance. And, for lots of people, that means working from home — communicating with people using video calls, messaging apps and collaboration tools (like Slack or Microsoft Teams).

Hybrid work combines both approaches. Sometimes you work from home (or somewhere similar), and sometimes you work with colleagues in a dedicated space. 

For some people, hybrid work is the best of both worlds

It gives you variety and flexibility. So when you want to socialise, use specialist equipment or have face-to-face meetings, you travel in. When you don’t (and, generally, you want to be closer to the comforts of home), you work from somewhere else (usually, your home).

Some employers have rules for how you divide your time

Some companies that do hybrid working need you to come in for a set number of days, or to be there on specific days each week. But some don’t. They leave it up to you to decide.

In that situation, you and your colleagues can all have different styles. Some people might like to largely work from home, while some might go in every day. 

What about “remote-first”? What’s that?

In “remote-first” jobs, everyone works remotely.

The company is set up so almost all employees are working in different places to each other every day. And sometimes that means they don’t have a permanent base. (If that’s the case, you can still meet in-person occasionally, but that could happen in a rented co-working space or at other locations for organised events.)

Hybrid work is probably here to stay

The COVID-19 pandemic proved two things:

• Many jobs can be done remotely.
• A lot of people like working from home.  

In the news, you might have seen some people (like politicians and leaders at big businesses) moaning that everyone should “get back to the office”, but that seems unlikely now. 

Research firm Gartner says that, around the world, 39% of knowledge workers (people who mainly work with information, traditionally in offices) will be hybrid workers by the end of 2023. 

In the UK, the Office of National Statistics suggests that 28% of workers are already in hybrid jobs. And, in London, that percentage is higher: 40% of workers are already hybrid.

Lots of companies recognise people want better work-life balance

Some jobs will always need people to be there in person but, for the jobs that don’t, hybrid work can help lots of people find the right balance between work and life. 

Research suggests lots of people will switch jobs to have the option of hybrid working, so there’s a clear incentive for employers to give people what they want. 

Work the way you want to

However you think you’d like to work — whether it’s hybrid or not — make sure you check the jobs you apply for to see if it’s an option. If it’s not, think about if the job’s for you — or if you’d be happy working differently to do it.