A hybrid work schedule mixes time spent working from home with time spent working in an office or other shared place. This technique allows teams to operate in a range of locations while accounting for responsibilities that benefit from face-to-face interaction with clients or coworkers. Implementing this technique may assist you in enhancing job satisfaction, productivity, and focus levels at work.

As the world heals from the pandemic, more employers will rehire staff. However, not everyone will be able to work five in-person days per week. According to a Microsoft poll, 66% of firms are restructuring their workspaces to allow a flexible work schedule.

Many workers enjoy working from home, with 73% of survey respondents expressing a desire for more flexible work options and 67% expressing a desire for more in-person connections with coworkers.

However, not every firm will opt for a hybrid approach, and some will remain in the office indefinitely.

A hybrid work schedule combines working from home or a distant location with working in the office. Some organizations may allow workers to work two or three days a week in the office, while the rest of the week can be spent at home or elsewhere. Many businesses have hybrid work schedule policies and laws that specify when and how frequently workers can work away from the office.

Follow these steps to create an effective hybrid work schedule:

1. Review company policies and requirements

Review the company’s employee handbook and note requirements regarding your work schedule. The organization that you work for may have policies and expectations that state:

• The days you can work from home
• The tasks you can complete remotely
• The times to remain logged on and active

Some companies might send updates about specific days for team members to be in the office for meetings, team projects or training sessions. It can be helpful to be contentious about these requirements when creating your schedule. 

2. List your weekly tasks

Make a list of the tasks for the upcoming week. These tasks can include:

• Recurring work items
• In-person meetings
• Major projects

You can then separate these work items that require time in the office from ones you can complete at home. This allows you to finish all of your responsibilities in the proper work environment to ensure you remain productive and efficient.

3. Collaborate with team members

If you work closely with team members on certain projects, try to build your schedule around those individuals. Consider communicating with coworkers to determine which days they’re available to work in the office. You can designate these days to work on your collaborative projects. Consider sharing your calendar publicly, and encouraging others to do so as well. This can keep everyone informed of when they might be in the office to work on projects together or answer each other’s questions regarding certain work items.

4. Determine when and where you’re most productive

As you decide which tasks to complete from the office and the ones to finish from home, try to determine where you’re most productive when you work on each. Try to analyze which locations you’re most productive in to ensure you complete more tasks at a quicker pace in both environments.

Read Also: How do You Maintain Culture in a Hybrid Work Model?

For instance, it might be easier to complete your simpler tasks in the office, where you can routinely take breaks to answer other employees’ questions or engage in conversations. You might be better at conducting more complex items that require focus at home, where you can more easily limit distractions. 

5. Note dates of events and in-person meetings

As you create your upcoming hybrid work schedule, note upcoming events and meetings. First, determine whether the meeting is in-person, or if you can attend virtually. If it’s in person, write these dates in your calendar and use them to plan when to be in the office that week. For instance, if you’ve several meetings on Monday, you can schedule your other in-office tasks for that day as well.

6. Consider your work-life balance

When you make your hybrid schedule, consider both your personal and professional needs. This ensures you create a schedule that allows you to complete work items while still providing enough time for personal tasks. For instance, if your child’s babysitter has to leave early on Mondays and Wednesdays, you can plan to work remotely during those days to ensure you’ve appropriate childcare. 

On the days that you decide to work from home, try to follow a strict schedule and log off at your designated time. This ensures you spend the correct time completing work-related tasks and relaxing your brain as you focus on personal activities.

7. Use various technology tools

To maintain effective communication with team members and supervisors when you’re away from the office, try to adopt different technology tools. Here are two to consider:

• Messaging tools: You can use business communication programs to send quick messages to employees regarding project updates or answers to their questions. Most of these communication tools can also tell your team whether you’re currently online to let them know you’re working and available. 
• Project management tools: Some teams also use task or project management tools to share what items they’re completing for certain projects. This keeps all employees updated on each other’s progress and assignments.

8. Update your schedule regularly

There may be unexpected assignments, meetings or events that occur throughout the week that require you to adjust your schedule and location plans. Regularly evaluate your weekly schedule and determine whether to switch your in-person office days with the remote ones to better meet your needs. 

Try to remain flexible and work around your team’s schedules to remain collaborative and supportive. This may increase your coworkers’ willingness to adjust to your schedule if any unexpected events arise that cause you to shift priorities and locations.

Here are two different examples of how hybrid schedules might work:

Example 1

Julia works for a media company that has a single hybrid work schedule for all team members. Everyone in the office works from home on Tuesdays and Fridays, then reports to the office to work in person on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This allows them to enjoy the flexibility of a work-from-home experience, while still having enough shared time in the office each week for productive group collaboration. 

Example 2

Bill is a computer programmer for Badger’s Electronic Solutions. The company allows team members to work remotely every day if they choose to do so. To make this possible, all meetings and team communications take place virtually. 

The company also owns a set of offices. Team members can decide to work from the office if they want to experience a collaborative in-person environment. Bill often works from the office on Mondays.

What is an Example of a Hybrid Work Schedule?

Many businesses are realizing that they can provide employees with flexibility while still maintaining productivity levels. A structure that combines onsite and remote labor is known as hybrid work. Employees can work from a central office, from home, or on the go, whether in satellite offices or co-working spaces.

According to a recent Accenture research, 83% of individuals prefer a hybrid work paradigm, specifically one in which they may work remotely at least 25% of the time. Another study, conducted by the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans, discovered that the majority of employees preferred hybrid work arrangements to totally remote or fully in-office models.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for hybrid work – every industry and company will have different needs. Here are a few common hybrid work models:

1. Office-centric Hybrid Work

In an office-centric hybrid model, employees spend most of their time working onsite. However, the company offers remote work as an option when needed. For example, there may be one designated day each week when employees can choose to work from home. 

The major advantage of this model is connection and engagement. With the majority of teams onsite most of the time, employees can develop stronger connections and feel a sense of belonging. For new employees, it can be easier to complete training and onboarding in an in-person setting, as well as develop relationships with their colleagues.

The challenge of an office-centric model is that hiring managers may miss out on job candidates who are highly qualified but can’t relocate to wherever the main office may be located. Other hybrid models that offer more flexibility, however, can minimize this issue. 

2. Remote-first Hybrid Model

With a remote-first work model, the expectation is that most employees will work offsite most of the time. They may have the option to work from a company office, but hiring decisions are made without regard to where employees are located. A remote-first company needs to invest in the technology and equipment that allows employees to complete all aspects of their job from home.

A benefit of this model is that it can significantly cut overhead costs by reducing physical office space – or eliminating it altogether. However, employees may feel disconnected from the company at large, and it can be challenging to communicate organizational culture without a consistent in-person component.

3. Flexible Hybrid Work

A flexible hybrid setup allows employees to decide when they want to work from an office, and when they prefer to work remotely. The office is open five days a week, so in theory, an employee could be onsite each day if they want.

In practice, employees will likely work from the office when they need to collaborate with colleagues in person. When they have independent tasks or projects, they will probably choose to work from home.

The key advantages here are flexibility and autonomy – workers have control over their work schedules. This can help with employee retention and satisfaction. Letting employees decide where they work communicates that their employer trusts them. This setup also boosts employee productivity, since team members can choose the workspace that best suits their needs on any given day. 

The challenge here is often logistical. It can be difficult to schedule a team meeting or simply check in with employees without clear guidelines about when they’ll be in the office. It can also potentially lead to management issues if certain employees get more in-person interaction with their supervisors than others. 

4. Fixed Hybrid Model

A fixed hybrid work model is a great solution for companies that want to offer flexibility but still value face-to-face engagement. Unlike flexible hybrid work, a fixed hybrid setup puts some guidelines in place regarding remote work.

For example, a company might require that employees work onsite three days per week, with the option to work remotely on the other two days. Or they might dictate a specific weekly schedule: employees need to be in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays but can choose their work location for the remainder of the week.

This schedule can be company-wide, or it can vary by team. A marketing department, for example, may find that they need three or four onsite days per week to complete collaborative work, while a team of budget analysts can mostly work independently.

Companies with limited space may choose to stagger their in-office days, with half the staff onsite on Mondays and Wednesdays and the other half working onsite on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This hybrid model helps management teams allocate resources better since they’ll be able to predict office utilization.

It also creates more opportunities for team building and employee engagement across the organization. However, if a company chooses a model in which their whole workforce is onsite one or more days per week, they won’t be able to take advantage of the lower costs that come with reducing their office square footage.

There’s no paint-by-numbers way to make hybrid work actually work. That said, learning about different hybrid work schedules, their respective benefits, and how to implement them yourself will get you closer to finding the best arrangement for your company. 

Employers aren’t the only ones who benefit from hybrid work. Employees do too. Here’s why:

Improved work-life balance

Gallup showed that 71 percent of employees and managers report having an improved work-life balance with hybrid work.

Less team burnout

Employees in hybrid workplaces tend to be less burned out, as they spend less time commuting and more time working in ways that make the most sense for them.

More individual control

Hybrid workplaces enable more control for employees, so they can make their own decisions on when to go into the office for collaborative work and when to work remotely for heads-down focus time. 

Hybrid work can have massive benefits for employees and companies, but only when there’s clear communication, employee buy-in, and robust hybrid work solutions that provide a foundation for all of it.