With the latest news of Amazon asking its employees to return to the office five times a week, a wave of companies have also come forward, like WIPRO and Dell Technologies, and more, who are tightening their work-from-home policy. A wave of studies has been initiated to understand which model is best for employees. There is no correct answer since companies have work models that fit their profiles.
With COVID-19 changing the world's scenario and how companies used to operate, transitioning from an office model to working from home was certainly a different ball game. It was initially a hurdle to jump, but everyone got used to it. Cut to 2024, where the coronavirus is becoming a memory of the distant past, many companies are resorting to their pre-covid work models. Here is an in-depth look at the pros and cons of the various working models.
The concept of an office has evolved, especially in recent years when the start-up culture took off. Earlier, in traditional offices where strictness was the norm, only work wear was allowed, and no holistic engagement outside work was the system, it has now become a thing of the past. The younger generation, who seek a fruitful balance between work, fun, and life, have redefined the meaning of an office. Now, more laid-back and employee-friendly policies are at play, where the team's well-being is given quantitative weightage. With many offices adopting the same, the narrative changes that offices are a dull and dreary place to spend 8 hours for 5 days every week.
One of COVID's gifts to the world was work from home or remote work, allowing employees to work in the comfort of their homes. Though initially, this posed a challenge, eventually, with trial and error, a lot was perfected with the upgradation of policies. A recent study by Forbes found that employees working from home were around 20% happier than those working in an office. Another study found that people with the flexibility of working remotely had 24% higher happiness and productivity levels.
In a hybrid model, the employees are asked to come to the physical office 2-3 times a week. Fridays are usually given WFH for more ease and a greater sense of freedom, which has also become a norm in many European organizations. While many companies are transitioning towards this, it is still an ongoing process since it combines the best of both worlds: WFH and office workspace.
These three work models work perfectly fine for organizations with different profiles and can be tweaked according to the overall well-being of the employees. WFH is quite suitable and cost-effective for some organizations that use digitalized work. While healthcare, manufacturing, and other such practices require physical presence, coming to the office is ideal. For the best of both worlds, hybrid is the clear winner, and it thrives on the positives of WFH and in-office.