Challenges of Hybrid Work and the Pandemic as Accelerators of Transformation

According to a Galup survey, 45% of full-time employees have been working at home during the pandemic all the time or part of the time. 54% of those who worked remotely, expected to keep their hybrid job, looking for a balance between life and work. But is it the best way to work? Do people feel happier this way, or does remote work lead to problems? Are there any problems generated by remote work?

A report of the World Health Organization from this year pointed out that the isolation generated by remote work can lead to stress and depression, which represents a challenge for companies that seek to promote healthy work environments.

To answer different questions around this topic, MBI Talent Group has organized its first cycle of conferences.

In this first session of MBI Insights, we have invited the following speakers:

  • Oscar Recio, Vice President of Human Resources at Nestlé Colombia
  • Agustín Calderón, Country Manager at P&G México 
  • Jorge Serrano, CEO of GREY Colombia.

During the conference, we debated and discussed hybrid work after the pandemic and its consequences. Below, you can see the most relevant points of the meeting in detail:

“50% of job tasks can be done remotely”

Can you imagine that half of everything we do in the office every day doesn’t require us to be present there? How can this change the lives of many people? We can work for any company in the world, people can travel more, be with their children. Great, isn’t it?

“Companies must give more opportunities for well-being by putting people at the center of the strategy” – Oscar Recio

The well-being of each team member becomes more and more important. Companies realize that people who feel happy and satisfied with their work, have a much lower stress level. Freedom of movement in remote work makes people the opportunity to get out more and not be in the same physical space all working day. If the person can be present at a meeting from anywhere in the world, why do we force him/her to be in a meeting room?

“The key is the responsibility of the leaders” – Oscar Recio

Leaders are the ones who have to inspire and create a comfortable environment for all employees to generate more commitment in them. What does this mean? It means showing that working at home (or in the space where we normally do our job) implies the same responsibility as working in the office. It is more complicated to be in a relaxed environment and be productive than in a job environment. Leaders are the first ones who have to prove that everything is ”real” and create a sense of belonging to the team.

“What is not measured does not exist – Agustín Calderón

After the pandemic, the world has changed, people are working from home but how can we evaluate the well-being of each worker? Agustín Calderón gives us an answer: the level of stress can be measured and should be measured. At P&G, it was decided to check and analyze the levels of depression, stress and job satisfaction. And this is the kind of strategy that can help different companies keep their workers happier, without fatigue and burnout.

“After the pandemic going to the office was like being at prison” – Jorge Serrano

Many people got used to being at home, spending more time with their family, not going to the office every day, and even not having to change their pajamas. But is it a good thing? People have forgotten about what we are losing during the remote job: contact with other people, opportunity to learn from our colleagues, balance between family and work, changing the space and not to eat, sleep and work in the same place.

The question is: are we losing or gaining by having remote work? How to measure that? Maybe that depends on each person and we have to give freedom to choose the perfect type of work for each one?

In the modern world there are companies that offer different types of work: 100% remote, office or hybrid one. The important thing is that everyone can choose what they prefer and to join a company where they can feel happy.

At MBI we consider it very important to ask ourselves the following on a daily basis: Which is the best mode for you? Remote, hybrid or in the office? The answer to this question is what you have to choose for yourself to be satisfied in your job position.

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