The hybrid work experiment is failing everyone

Hybrid work seemed like the magic fix for the disconnection, productivity loss and widespread resignations that infected the workforce over the course of the pandemic. But is it a cure, or a curse? 

Today, 74% of employers have implemented a hybrid work schedule, where some or most of their workers clock into the office a few times a week. While those who work this schedule have enjoyed benefits like flexibility, better work-life balance and improved career mobility, those same advantages seem to be evading the estimated 32.6 million employees who work remotely full-time.  

A third of remote workers have reported feeling lonely and isolated from colleagues, according to a 2023 survey from Glassdoor, and almost half of remote workers have even felt ostracized and ganged up on by their in-person colleagues, according to Harvard Business Review. So why are employers continuing to push a policy that leaves so many employees out in the cold? 

"There have been multiple touch points over the last few years where we could revisit how we do things and how we want to operate," says Jennifer Britton, author and professional leadership coach with coaching platform Potentials Realized. "Yet leaders are nervous about even opening that Pandora's box." 

Read more: Allstate's $10 million commitment to remote and hybrid employee connection 

Some employers are cracking open the lid: Workplace social platform Airspeed found that 90% of employers know that connection and culture are lacking for remote team members, and a report from Executive Network found that 71% of HR managers admitted to offering preferential treatment to in-person workers over their remote colleagues.  

To fix this imbalance, employers need to prioritize connection of all types — that starts with some tough and persistent questioning, Britton says. 

"How are we intentionally keeping people in a loop? Are we facilitating that conversation? Are we asking people if they feel connected?" she says. "Many of our industries really require a deep level of connectivity, but how are we creating those intentional contact points? That's been a bit of a tug of war." 

How workplace tech helps — and hurts

For remote workers, they feel like they're on the losing end of the rope. While employers have turned to technology as the connective tissue between dispersed teams, only 21% of remote employees feel their employer has given them the right tech and workplace management tools to contribute to their teams effectively, according to data from telecommunications platform Zen Marketing. 

Read more: Don't invest in a return to office. Invest in better tech

In ubiquitous Zoom meetings, this can quickly come to a head. For example, when employees participate in meetings where both in-person and remote workers are present, remote workers account for 10 ideas on average, while in-person participants contribute 13 or more ideas per meeting, according to data from software platform Envoy. Additionally, remote workers are more likely to say their ideas are overlooked, and more than 60% feel their colleagues don't fight for their priorities, according to the Harvard Business Review data. 

"If you have, for example, three members who are working remotely and members who are in the conference room, best practice has always been to bring those voices from furthest away into the room first," Britton says. "But oftentimes, when the bulk of the team is in person, we forget that there are other people who are outside."  

And a silent worker is often a forgotten one: With more opportunities for in-person workers to speak up quickly, remote workers can go out of sight, out of mind, says John Hackston, head of thought leadership at The Myers-Briggs Company, an HR consulting firm. 

"Western culture emphasizes stereotypically extroverted behaviors, like talking right away," Hackston says. "What happens at a video meeting is [some employees] get free range to express what they're talking about. People who just sit there may seem disengaged, and if you're not even in the room, they're even more excluded." 

Read more: 30 days, zero meetings: One company's experiment with work-life balance

Hackston recommends that managers continue to expand how they connect with their teams. Instead of relying heavily on meetings, a variety of communication channels can give everyone an opportunity to contribute meaningfully. 

"Use different channels to make sure that you communicate in different ways, like video meetings and face-to-face meetings and via e-mail writing," he says. "Give people time to come back and keep that communication going, so there's more opportunity for those water cooler moments." 

Rethinking the 'water cooler'

As employers have pushed the merits of hybrid work, the concept of "the water cooler" has emerged as the ideal of in-person collaboration and creative idea flow. But that metaphorical concept can be easily replicated to adapt to employees in mixed company, Britton says. 

"What is that element of the water cooler moment? It's these social moments where we spontaneously come together and connect," Britton says. "In a hybrid or all-remote world, we need to be a little bit more intentional in creating that, so people are connected not only by the results of their work, but in their relationships." 

By and large, that work falls on managers, Britton says, and that job is only getting more difficult. Leaders who are open to being flexible with their time and their style will reap the rewards of a more synchronous team. 

"When I manage a flexible team, which may be in the office Monday and Tuesday, and then the rest of the week is off-site, my role as leader needs to change [every day], too," Britton says. "That requires proactivity of leadership, as well as team members to really be creating trust, safety and connection. We're learning as we go." 

Read more: 5 ways to be a better manager in 2024

Managers need to think like a coach: What will benefit each team member individually, and how can you help them achieve those goals? Set up frequent check-ins, provide mentorship opportunities and most importantly, don't think it falls on you alone to fix it.  

"Manage by objective: What's going to help my team members be successful? That means doing a lot more one-on-one time, and thinking about how peers can also support each other on a team," Britton says. "We've really seen organizations moving from leader as boss, to leader as coach, which means helping those leaders get better at asking questions, listening to people and empathetically connecting." 

Whether employees continue to come into work or remain at home, the refrain of the past few years will stay the same in 2024, too: One size does not fit all. Being flexible and allowing that individuality to flourish, no matter the environment, will pay off. 

"Some employers have ignored individuality and they may ultimately pay a bit of a price for that, because some of their best staff will ultimately go elsewhere," Hackston says. "If you realize the individuality of your staff and allow space for them to grow and develop, you're going to get a lot more out of them."