The future of work is hybrid, urges one author

Since Covid-19 restrictions started loosening, experts have debated whether remote or in-person work is more effective, with some settling somewhere in the middle, promoting hybrid as the best approach.

Gustavo Razzetti, CEO of consulting firm Fearless Culture, is one of those experts. In his 2022 book, Remote Not Distant: Design a Company Culture That Will Help You Thrive in a Hybrid Workplace, he shares how leaders can find a hybrid model that works for their organization.

In an interview with HR Brew, he discussed how the RTO debate has changed, and his advice for HR leaders deliberating over work models.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What is a key takeaway from your book?

The future of work is here, so things have already changed for good, and we need to accept the new reality. And…the present of work is flexible. What I mean by flexible is…trying to find what’s the best of remote and what’s the best of [the] in-person experience…What’s driving that need to return to the office? Basically, it’s resistance by leaders that don’t want to admit, and [this] is critical for HR leaders, that the world has changed. When I talk about flexibility, I’m talking [about] the flexibility to choose not only where you work for your location, but also when and how.

What are some examples of combining the best of remote and in-person experiences?

The best of remote is that, when you work from home…people can manage their own schedule, and they can adjust it to their needs. So, if you need to take your kids to school, you can take that time without a guilt trip, and then you can work when you find the time…Additionally, when it comes to women, when it comes to minorities, they feel safer working remotely, so there’s less microaggressions. And, if they go through some of those subtle or not-so subtle aggressions in the workplace, they can turn off the computer, go grab a coffee, take a break, and recover.

In the office, it’s great for team collaboration [and] team alignment. So, when we are not on the same page, or we are reshaping the strategy or the vision for the company, it’s great to be in-person, because that’s more effective…For example, if you’re in a sprint, and you have to define a new strategy…or the project is stuck, and you need to get it back on track, getting together in the office and in-person really works great.

Has anything changed about the RTO debate since you published your book in 2022?

When I wrote the book, and when I published it, the pendulum was shifting from people working mostly remote or hybrid to leaders, as I mentioned earlier, pushing people to get back to the office. And it has become even more racy, actually creating much more friction. So, a big majority of leaders want people back in the office, and a vast majority of employees want to continue working from home. There’s no data that confirms that working fully or mostly in the office is better, so leaders keep bringing [up that] culture is suffering, productivity suffering. But, all the indicators are showing exactly the opposite.

Some of the hypotheses or suggestions added in, or included in my book, were based on my direct experience, based on my research, but now there are many studies done confirming two things: First, that hybrid and flexible is the way to go…The second element I emphasize in my book is that, as an HR [leader] or a CEO, you need to avoid the one-size-fits-all. So, many companies want to have one blanket approach to remote work, rather than letting the teams decide how they work…now research shows that that’s the most effective way, to [have it] be a team-driven decision.

What advice do you have for HR leaders still deciding which work model to adopt?

You need to involve the team in the decisions. Once again, this is not about policing team members…It’s about letting the work that those teams do dictate how they work. So, for example, if we are in the midst of a very complex, critical project, [we] probably need to spend like one week, maybe two weeks, together in the same place. But then, after the goal [is met], maybe, for implementation, they don’t…We need to measure performance. Teams need to have clear KPIs and goals that HR can measure, instead of measuring presenteeism, or time spent on the project, or monitoring if people are sending more emails or Slack messages.