What is hybrid work? Hybrid work models are effective today

In the age of evolving digital technology, many businesses are testing and implementing new working models to maximize employee performance. One of the working models mentioned here is Hybrid work. So what is hybrid work ? What hybrid work models are there? Let's find out with 1C Vietnam in the content below.

1. What is Hybrid work?

Hybrid work is a flexible working model that allows a combination of working in the office and working remotely (either at home or at another work location such as a coffee shop, coworking shop, etc.). spaces,...). Hybrid work allows employees to choose how and where they work, while giving employees the autonomy to design their workweek in a way that works both for them and for company policies.

Organizations that use hybrid work can provide better work-life balance for their employees. This will boost employee productivity and engagement in the workplace, and help businesses operate more efficiently.

2. What are the benefits of working hybrid work?

Hybrid work allows for a combination of remote working and working in the office. So what benefits will this bring? Applying hybrid working can bring many benefits to both employees and businesses:

For employees:

• Bring flexibility to employees: Employees can freely choose a working environment that suits their needs and personality. They can work in the office to meet colleagues, exchange ideas and create collaboration. They can also work remotely to take advantage of private and uninterrupted space.
• Save time and travel costs: With hybrid work, employees do not need to travel every day to the office, helping to save time and reduce travel costs. They can use this time to work faster or spend time with family and personal interests.
• Brings balance between work and life: Hybrid work enables employees to balance work and life more flexibly. Not having to work in an office every day gives them time to take care of themselves, participate in personal activities and enjoy life outside of work.

For Businesses:

• Attracting talented people to work at the company: Most employees love the combined working format. Therefore, when applying the hybrid work model, businesses can attract and attract more good employees who want to join and work in the organization.
• Significant cost savings: The hybrid work model allows employees to go directly to the office less often. This allows some companies to minimize rental space, thereby cutting part of office rental costs. Businesses can use the savings to reinvest in other activities such as providing more working options for employees in the form of satellite offices or smaller workspaces.

3. Hybrid work models are popular today

In fact, there are a variety of hybrid models to meet different needs and nature of work. Among them, 4 hybrid work models are commonly applied by businesses such as:

3.1 Remote-First Model – work mainly remotely

This form refers to the fact that employees will mainly work remotely instead of the office. At this time, employees will only work in the office in cases such as meetings, meetings, signing contracts or working agreements, meeting customers, etc. This form is suitable for jobs Able to do independent work such as programming, creativity, writing,...

Advantage:

• Improve work productivity.
• Create trust and work motivation for employees.
• Save office operating costs, travel costs and time.
• Provide convenient space for meetings and get-togethers.

Limit:

• Difficult to control employee work process.

3.2 Office-First Model - works mainly in the office

In contrast to the Remote-First model, the Hybrid Working Office-First Model encourages employees to work more in the office than remotely. This model is often applied to jobs that require close supervision, jobs that require quick communication and short-term feedback such as production, laboratory research, construction, etc. .

Advantage:

• Increase collaboration and teamwork.
• Allow employees to work flexibly.
• No need to change too many offices.

Limit:

• Difficult to apply when personnel are dispersed in many places.
• Not suitable for companies with many independent processing jobs.

3.3 Fixed Hybrid work - fixed work

This hybrid working model defines a specific schedule, including days when employees need to be in the office and flexible days. When applying the Fixed Hybrid work model, businesses will fix remote working time and office working time for employees. For example, employees will come to the office from Monday to Thursday and work from home every Friday.

Advantage

• Improve employees' ability to work effectively in groups.
• Employees can still choose a suitable time based on the business's proposed schedule.
• Can control employee work more easily.

Limit:

• Less flexibility compared to other models.
• Can affect productivity if employees are not in an optimal work environment for the task at hand.
• Losing the advantage of being able to save on office operating costs.

3.4 Flexible Hybrid work - flexible combination

The last form that businesses need to pay attention to is Flexible Hybrid work. This format allows employees to freely choose the time and location they want to work based on their daily priorities.

Advantage

• Bringing absolute comfort to employees in choosing the most independent and convenient time and place to work.
• Building relationships based on good trust helps increase loyalty and job satisfaction.
• Helps businesses expand and diversify their labor resources.
• Save on travel and office expenses.

Defect

• Having difficulty collaborating and working in groups because each person's working hours are different.
• It is difficult to control the number of people coming to the office at certain times.

4. Difficulties when implementing Hybrid work in Vietnam

Understanding what Hybrid work is, the benefits of this model as well as popular Hybrid models can be the foundation to help businesses provide practical implementation direction. However, in the working environment in Vietnam, this form has only recently been applied and has certain difficulties such as:

4.1 Not yet popular and effective

Hybrid work only became popular in Vietnam after the Covid-19 pandemic. That's why this model in Vietnam is still not really popular. Employees and managers have not been trained on how to work and manage remotely. This easily leads to ineffective online meetings, failure to evaluate the level of honesty when working at home and reporting via email.

4.2 Restrictions apply to certain occupations

If we clearly understand what hybrid work is, we can all realize that this model cannot be applied to all professions. Hybrid work is completely suitable for jobs that involve creativity or can be done independently such as technology, marketing, etc. On the contrary, industries that require high security such as banking and securities ,... should not be applied.

4.3 Requires short-term and long-term planning

To be able to effectively apply hybrid wok, Vietnamese businesses do not just stop at understanding but must create a specific strategy both in the short and long term. Before putting it into practice, businesses need to research and consider the appropriate level. Businesses can start with simple questions such as should the hybrid work model be applied to a group or to all employees? Which departments can work flexibly at home and in the office? Everything needs to be calculated in detail for the working process to be effective.

4.4 Requires high security

Vietnamese businesses that want to apply hybrid work may encounter initial difficulties in information security. Because employees will use different wifi networks, this creates conditions for hackers to penetrate and steal information. To avoid maximum risks, businesses need a strict security system. However, investing in security requires both time and money, so not every business can deploy it.

Hopefully, with the above useful information, individuals and businesses can properly understand what hybrid work is , the current popular hybrid work models and the difficulties that may be encountered when applying this form. Don't forget to follow other articles on 1C Vietnam's website to update useful information about business management!