The COVID-19 pandemic has well and truly turned the world upside down. Governments, businesses and individuals all over the world have had to completely rethink how they operate on a day-to-day basis, causing a frantic global scramble to try and salvage any sense of ‘normalcy’. Many businesses closed their doors, forcing employees to work from home from their personal laptop or computer, and asking them to embrace an entirely new way of living with little to no time to prepare.
While the work-from-home model was generally well-received by employees, now that the world is beginning to return to some form of discernible normality, a new hybrid work model may become the stock standard approach to the 21st century work schedule. In this latest approach, many businesses are asking their employees to work from home for some days in the week and to work in the office for the other days. Naturally, after spending so long working from home over the last eighteen months plus, this can be a big transition for individuals to make. However, with the right approach, you can ease into a hybrid work schedule with relative ease.
Let’s take a look at some helpful tips to help you to make the transition to a hybrid work schedule as straightforward as possible.
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Be Prepared For Change
Working from home certainly has its advantages but many employees were made aware throughout the pandemic that the day would come when they would have to return to the workplace. The thoughts of packing up your laptop, putting on your professional attire and commuting to the office may seem daunting right now, and that is to be expected. The key to making the change as seamless as possible is to prepare yourself mentally in advance so that you are ready when that first morning at the office rolls around.
Consider taking steps before your lockdown lifts to ensure that your sleep cycle and other aspects of your daily schedule align with what your schedule was like back when you’d have to commute to the office. Ensuring that you’re physically ready for the transition will support your own emotional transition too!
Discuss Your Plans
A hybrid work model means a combination of working from home and visiting the office. To ensure you know exactly what is expected of you, be sure to have a frank and honest discussion with your employer ahead of time. Find out how many days a week you are expected to be in the office and how many days you can work from home. Discuss your requirements and outline how you would like to move forward. With a plan in place and clear expectations outlined, there will be less uncertainty about the move to a hybrid schedule.
Understand The Office Environment
Chances are that when you return to work, your workplace might not look the same as it did before. Desks may be more spread out than they were in the past, sanitising stations could be located throughout the office or you may even have a temperature checkpoint at the door when you arrive. Speak to your employer and your colleagues ahead of time if you are nervous about the transition so that you know what to expect from the office environment when you arrive on your first day back.
Keep Your Home Setup
Now that you know you’ll only be working from home one or two days a week, it can be tempting to break down that home office you set up during the height of the pandemic. However, even if you are working from home less than before, you will still need an adequate setup at home to remain productive on those at-home days, meaning working from the couch cannot be an option.
Keeping your home office set up will help you to stay on track when you’re working from home and ensure that you are consistently prepared to work from home should more lockdowns be enforced in the future.
Make The Transition To A Hybrid work Schedule As Smooth As Possible
Making the switch back to a hybrid model can be overwhelming at first but that’s okay. Following the tips we have outlined above, you can be confident that you will be ready for whatever the future might hold, whether you are working from home, at the office, or a combination of both.
