Over the past five years, hybrid work has emerged as a transformative solution, offering flexibility and resilience for both organizations and employees. It enables productivity regardless of physical location, blending the benefits of in-office collaboration with the autonomy of remote work. However, beneath the surface of this seemingly ideal arrangement lie nuanced challenges that warrant deeper exploration. In this article, we delve into a unique issue often overlooked in discussions about hybrid work and propose actionable solutions through best practices and thoughtful workplace design.
The Enduring Appeal of Hybrid Work
The hybrid work model has proven to be more than just a temporary fix. It's a strategic approach that combines the strengths of both remote and in-person work. Research from the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research highlights that hybrid arrangements balance the benefits of office presence, such as enhanced collaboration and innovation, with the advantages of remote work, including flexibility and reduced commute time.
Studies also indicate that hybrid work can lead to increased employee satisfaction and retention. A study published in Nature found that a hybrid schedule with two days of remote work per week did not negatively impact performance and even improved job satisfaction.
These insights underscore the importance of embracing hybrid work not just as a necessity but as an opportunity to rethink and redesign our work environments to better suit this model.
Hybrid's Hidden Challenges
Despite its advantages, hybrid work introduces complexities that can hinder team cohesion and collaboration. A University of Washington study published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior reveals that inconsistent in-office schedules can lead to the formation of subgroups within teams. When employees choose different days to work in the office, it can result in “co-location imbalance,” where certain team members interact more frequently, fostering stronger bonds, while others become peripheral.
This dynamic can marginalize remote workers, making them feel disconnected and potentially impacting their engagement and contribution to team objectives. The lack of spontaneous interactions and informal conversations, often referred to as “collisions,” further exacerbate this divide, limiting opportunities for collaboration and innovation.
The Power of Collisions in a Hybrid World
In traditional office environments, many of the most valuable ideas are sparked not in scheduled meetings but in casual unplanned encounters, such as passing conversations in the hallway, casual break room chats, and spontaneous interactions between departments. These “collisions” are often catalysts for the growth of ideas and solutions that would otherwise go undiscovered.
Hybrid work can weaken this important dynamic. With fewer shared in-office days and less overlap in schedules, employees are less likely to run into colleagues outside their immediate teams. The result is siloed thinking, reduced organizational awareness, and fewer opportunities for mentoring, brainstorming, and sanity-checks among departments.
Thoughtfully designed spaces can bring these organic moments back into hybrid routines. Centralized communal areas — like open lounges, café style work zones, or shared touchdown spaces — encourage casual interactions. When combined with intentional scheduling (like co-locating complementary teams of aligning days for specific groups, these strategies can help foster a workplace culture that feeds creativity and engagement.
As workplace strategists, we see these collisions not as accidents — but as outcomes that can be designed for.
Fostering Connection Through Design and Strategy
Addressing these challenges requires a multifaceted approach that combines strategic planning with intentional workplace design:
Coordinated Scheduling: Implementing structured in-office days can ensure that team members have overlapping schedules, facilitating face-to-face interactions and strengthening team dynamics.
Activity-Based Working (ABW): Designing workspaces that cater to various tasks — such as collaborative zones, quiet focus areas, and social spaces — allows employees to choose settings that best suit their work needs, enhancing productivity and satisfaction.
Collision Spaces: Creating communal areas like lounges, cafes, and open meeting spots encourages spontaneous interactions among employees from different departments, fostering a culture of innovation and knowledge-sharing.
By integrating these strategies, organizations can create an environment that not only supports hybrid work but enables it to thrive as a model.
Momentum's Role in Shaping the Hybrid Workplace
At Momentum, we specialize in designing and building spaces that align with the evolving needs of hybrid work. Our expertise lies in delivering spaces that promote flexibility, connectivity, and engagement as well as overall employee wellbeing.
If you're looking to transform your workplace or campus to better support hybrid work, we're here to help. Contact us to learn more about our design-build process, tailored to your organization's unique needs.