Finding Harmony in a Hybrid Work Schedule

By Sarah Kim, Account Manager

When the pandemic hit in 2020, many workers were thrown into a fully remote environment with little to no choice in the matter due to state mandates and guidelines. Many organizations have since transitioned back to the office and - as a rare, pandemic silver lining - are offering employees more flexibility than ever before in balancing remote and in-office work. 

Depending on the organization and team structure, hybrid schedules may be discussed and agreed upon as a group or on an individual basis. For example, the Bohlsen Group team has implemented a hybrid work schedule of Tuesdays and Thursdays in-office. On these days, we try to schedule brainstorming sessions, planning meetings and other creative and strategic discussions that benefit from good old fashioned facetime. 

While the two day in-office schedule works great for our team, you may find yourself in a situation where you are able (or even required) to set your own personal hybrid schedule and are feeling uncertain about how you should go about determining your best fit. Here are some key questions to consider that can help guide your hybrid scheduling decisions: 

What tasks do you prefer to do in the office? 

As mentioned in the Bohlsen Group example outlined above, some things just happen most effectively in person. Meetings that require problem solving, decision making and brainstorming are best done face to face if you really want to get the creative juices flowing. Schedule your in-office days for when those meetings are held, and if you are the meeting organizer, it will be important to ask other pertinent team members to try to make it into the office those days as well. 

If you are in a leadership position that involves more high-level strategic decisions, you may find it beneficial to physically be there, as what’s communicated and not communicated virtually is usually very different than in person. If these discussions usually take place via a standing meeting (i.e. every Monday), make it a regular in-office day so that you’ll always have “a seat at the table” - literally! 

When does your team need you? 

Although at this point we have all sharpened our virtual work skill sets to some degree, everyone still has their preferred learning and communication styles. Think about the members of your team and how they most effectively take direction that results in a smooth implementation. Maybe a 30 minute in-person meeting will prevent you from spending hours resolving an issue that resulted from a misunderstood email communication. Alternatively, for those team members that comprehend direction better via writing or a screen share, continue communicating with them virtually and reserve your in-office time for other tasks like those listed above. 

Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

I’ll be honest, although we fit in as much work as we can on our in-office days, it is also important for Bohlsen Group to spend time together as a team. Discussing last night’s episode of the Bachelor just isn’t the same over Zoom. In addition to building workplace camaraderie, you should also consider your clients. Sometimes it’s good to have a little facetime to help build organic rapport that is hard to replicate virtually. 

If you have extrovert tendencies, you may want to consider scheduling your in-office days consecutively (i.e. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday), trying to schedule all of your internal and client meetings during that time and using your remote days to tackle more administrative-focused tasks. For introverts, staggering your in-office days may be more beneficial as you will have time to personally “recharge” at home before heading back into the office. 

When do you feel the least motivated?

Are you a fellow Friday person like me? Or do you often find your “Sunday Scaries” carrying over into Monday? Some people may start the week off with a bang, but when Friday afternoon rolls around it gets more difficult to get any substantial work done. For others, it may take awhile to get going on Monday, but by mid to late week they are on a roll.  

Consider using in-office time to “pump you up” when your motivation is waning OR, alternatively, make those days remote so that you can focus on straightforward tasks that may not require as much brainpower. Hybrid scheduling around motivation patterns can be tricky, but take your extrovert or introvert tendencies into consideration as well as they and motivation in the workplace can go hand-in-hand.