Between smart working and new professions: how the 'hybrid' model will affect working life

There are several - and often complementary - trends that will characterise and shape the world of work on a global scale over the next twelve months. On the list, there is of course no shortage ofartificial intelligence, the impact of which in corporate and professional environments will in many cases be decidedly considerable. However, the hybrid work, which emerged as a 'lifesaving' resource in the pandemic period and has been gradually boosted by further advances in digital technology: millions of people today are changing their habits precisely because of the operational flexibility granted to them by their companies, and this trend, according to various authoritative studies (among them, we cite that of Stanford University), is destined to strengthen in the future, with about a third or more of white-collar workers continuing to work both in presence and remotely in the long run.

A recent report by IWG, one of the world's most important providers of smart working spaces (it owns brands such as Regus, Spaces and Copernico) has put under the magnifying glass some of the components that make up the 'hybrid working' paradigm. First and foremost, the emergence within large organisations of a new role at the C-suite level, that of the Chief Hybrid Officer, stands out. Innovative companies such as Meta, Doist and GitLab have already placed their bets on this figure, and in the years to come, more and more realities will make use of a CHO to supervise and optimise hybrid working environments and processes, with the aim of balancing employees' needs between home and office without jeopardising productivity and overcoming logistical criticalities. Next to the Chief Hybrid Officer, IWG experts also see another emerging professional, named 'Office Synchroniser' and charged with finding the most appropriate solutions to ensure the most effective collaboration between different colleagues.

"The hybrid model," emphasised Mark Dixon, Founder and CEO of IWG, in a note, "is fundamentally changing our approach to work, and companies that adopt it will attract the best talent and get the most out of their human resources, while reducing costs. The pace of this change will continue into 2024 as more and more workers and organisations realise the obvious benefits in terms of culture, sustainability and beyond". The challenge, in short, is more alive than ever, and one of the priorities that companies must look to is (not surprisingly) finding the 'perfect' balance between increased flexibility and time, a balance that can act as a stimulus for open collaboration and communication between people and a cohesive, shared commitment on their part. The adoption of hybrid work, this is the assumption, is therefore not only synonymous with greater operational flexibility but also a driver for the development of a dynamic and inclusive corporate culture, capable of fostering the growth of diverse perspectives and contributing to improved people satisfaction.

Embracing a hybrid work model will mean, for companies and managers, adopting a more holistic approach to the needs of staff who also work remotely and, consequently, paying more attention to innovative benefit packages that could become mainstream and make a difference in the talent race. We are talking specifically about benefits such as pet care and holidays for caregivers, and more generally about company policies capable of meeting workers' expectations of greater well-being, from increased parental leave to interventions to deal with burnout with appropriate mental health support. Companies will also be called upon to play an increasingly active role in addressing the challenge of childcare and provide concrete support to parents working remotely, a requirement deemed essential to maintain a diverse and skilled workforce.

Diversity and more generally DE&I strategies (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) will in turn have a significant impact in the near future on the design of office space and furniture. Noise and lighting management and the creation of more comfortable environments will increasingly be a feel-good factor for employees working in presence while, in concert, hybrid work organisation will bring progressive contributions to environmental sustainability (according to recent research by IWG and Arup, drastically reducing commuting can help cut harmful emissions by up to 70 per cent in the UK and up to 87 per cent in the US).