Hybrid Working & Embracing the New Normal…
The office has changed – it’s now Hybrid. The workforce has changed – we are now remote, on video, and in person. The dynamics of it all can seem overwhelming. But there are important aspects of this hybrid work environment that can help us manage it all.
When I first started working, there wasn’t an option to work remotely. I dreamed of not sitting in traffic for hours in the “DMV” (DC, Maryland Virginia) and recall how much time I was wasting just sitting in my car. This was the late 90s and expectations were just well…different. You were expected to be in the office the same time every day. Absolutely no flexibility. And no one cared that you sat in traffic for hours and hours, that was just the way things were. Quite frankly back then it was better to have to go to the airport and get on a plane than just sitting on the beltway. I honestly think back to that now as if it were a long lost world.
When I was finally able to start working remotely my children were at a young age – and I was relieved. I could do my work but I still came into the office most days because I was still concerned that not being there would affect how people viewed me as an employee. I knew secretly they probably figured I really wasn’t working that hard. But honestly I was putting in more time at home and felt my work reflected it too.
Then I was recruited to a Video Conferencing company which spiraled me into the true world of working remotely. It was 2009, and at that time I knew I was one of the lucky ones who had an opportunity to work almost completely from home because of the Video conferencing meeting capability. Most Technology companies weren’t embracing this way of working yet – but I was so thankful because it gave me some of the freedoms and flexibility I needed as a mom. Once again – I noticed I was giving it my all and working additional hours because I was not sitting in my car for hours.
Fast forward to the Pandemic by this time I was well into my new role as a sales leader but we truly had not embraced video conferencing. When my company stated we would no longer be going into the office and leveraging video conferencing for meetings – I felt that I already knew how to do this due to my previous experiences. However this way of working wasn’t what everyone was familiar with and as our calendars filled up for meeting after meeting many of us entered into Zoom exhaustion.
Now that we are coming out of this and going back to the office and leveraging Zoom meetings – we are all embracing a Hybrid work environment. Which to me means flexibility and a forever changed work environment. There are those who may argue that we all need to get back to the office and those who never want to return to the office but this Hybrid approach really isn’t so bad. Frankly, we wouldn’t have it if it weren’t for the Pandemic. So I say this – let’s continue to embrace the Hybrid work environment because it gives us the flexibility to work how we need to work and when. It allows us to stay connected when we need to and it also beats sitting in traffic for hours if we don’t have to!
