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HyFlex: The Future of Workspaces

The implementation of the concept of Hyflex would require an adaptation to the new culture with an open mind while reshaping the goals and objectives of the organization. It is essential to understand how the needs and behavior of the employees have changed, and initiatives have to be taken to change how employees are led and managed.

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Pre-Covid History of Workspaces

The idea that people most resonated with, in the pre-covid times, when talking about work was 9-5. And when talking about workspaces, cubicles, or dense offices with open floor plans. The advent of technological advancement was accompanied by a transformation of the idea. The idea of working physically together, in one location, was slowly not being perceived as a necessity. With the onset of Covid-19, the work culture witnessed a significant transformation. Remote working was increasingly adopted as the new normal.

Benefits of Remote Working

Adopting remote working led to numerous benefits in terms of enhanced productivity of employees, reduction in costs, utilization of talent globally, mitigation of immigration issues. 

Capgemini's report suggests that over six in ten organizations witnessed productivity gains in Q3-2020 due to remote working and average productivity gains ranged from 13%-24%, driven primarily by reductions in commute time and adoption of virtual collaboration tools. 

The organizations were also benefitted from a reduction in costs for businesses such as real estate costs, facilities management costs, and business travel costs, among numerous others. 

Surveys also suggest that about 70% of the organizations believe that the benefits of remote working will last even post the pandemic.  

This raises the question of whether remote working is the holy grail?

Concerns associated with Remote Working

While on the one hand the benefits of remote working were being enjoyed, this shift, on the other hand, also negatively impacted the lives of working individuals. The transition resulted in a blurring of the line between work life and personal life, ultimately leading to heightened fatigue, exhaustion, and burnout.

Working from home has also resulted in a lack of collaboration and sharing of ideas among individuals. Employees, particularly new employees, have experienced an absence of a sense of belonging that accompanies working from an office and have felt socially and professionally isolated.

What comes as a solution to this and is also being referred to as the future of workspace, is Hybrid or rather Hyflex.

What is meant by Hyflex?

Hyflex is a way to experience the best of worlds. The word can be broken down into Hybrid and Flexible. As the term suggests, Hyflex aims to deliver the independence of remote working with structure, the sociability of onsite work while providing ease and convenience through flexible workspaces. 

Numerous organizations have onboarded this new trend. The tradition 9-5 has now transformed into 3-2-2, three days of onsite work, two days of remote work, and two days off. Companies like Infosys are exploring a partial work from home where a certain section of employees will work from home. TCS has opted for a 75:25 ratio for employees to work from home and office.

Transition to Hyflex

The implementation of the concept of Hyflex would require an adaptation to the new culture with an open mind while reshaping the goals and objectives of the organization. It is essential to understand how the needs and behavior of the employees have changed, and initiatives have to be taken to change how employees are led and managed. For instance, reconnecting with employees while establishing communication channels appropriate for the current work environment, democratizing the work environment where decision-making is not just limited to top-level management. Still, employees are also given the independence to decide for themselves. What is also required is to ensure uniform access to resources for all employees. Along with rebooting the role of the physical workspaces, there is a necessity to provide employees the right environment to work from home. It is also essential for organizations to identify burnout masked in productivity and enable employees to strike a delicate balance between work and personal life.  

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article above are those of the authors' and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of this publishing house


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