Productivity

Employee Engagement in a Hybrid Workplace

Sept. 22, 2023

4 min. read

How can you keep employees engaged when managing both remote and in-person employees? It’s one of the most common challenges of a hybrid workplace.

Benefits of a Hybrid Workplace

By many accounts, a hybrid workplace can benefit both employers and employees. In fact, employee engagement in a hybrid workplace can be positive for all parties involved. All around the country, businesses are reporting the ability to save money on rent by decreasing the space they need for their in-office team.

Businesses can recruit from substantially more geographically diverse candidates without worrying about paying moving expenses, dealing with relocation logistics, or losing out on many people who live too far away to show up in person. Businesses with a hybrid or remote workplace see decreases in turn-over, saving them money and often increasing employee satisfaction.

Not only are businesses benefiting from hybrid work, but employees are, too. Research shows that allowing for remote or hybrid work:

Increases employees’ happiness
Gives them a better work/life balance
Can even improve their health

Disadvantages of a Hybrid Workplace

While hybrid work sounds like a dream scenario for both businesses and employees, it is also essential to be mindful of the disadvantages. A potential lack of employee engagement in a hybrid workplace is commonly the #1 cited drawback to having a remote or hybrid team.

Some employees feel disconnected from their peers at hybrid workplaces—especially if some work in person. They may also report:

Loneliness
Lack of motivation
Increased concerns over needing to validate their productivity

How to Prioritize Engagement at a Hybrid Business

Although businesses have legitimate concerns about employee engagement when they’ve got a hybrid workforce, there are actions they can take to address red flags. By managing employee engagement and happiness as a standard part of business, companies can avoid fire drills caused by a lack of insight into how those employees feel.

There are many steps businesses can take to prioritize engagement, but the first step is always to get an accurate understanding of how employees are feeling. Do they feel connected? Happy? Like a valued part of the company? Are there identifiable ways the company can improve employee engagement in the hybrid workplace?

Once you’ve accurately and comprehensively measured how your employees feel, you can monitor those trends over time, identifying potential problems before they get out of hand. You can also make changes to positively affect employee engagement and happiness and use ongoing data to understand if those changes have the desired effect.

Future of Hybrid Workplaces

While we hear that some companies require workers to come to in-person offices, it’s clear that the hybrid workplace is here to stay:

You may have some fully remote employees and others who are always in an office
Or, you may have all your employees choose a few days per week or month that they should work in person
We also see some businesses that require in-person meetings for critical product launches, prep for customer meetings, or quarterly

The Bridge to Hybrid Productivity: Amazing Workplace's Engagement Solutions

No matter the details of your business, your ability to positively affect employee engagement in a hybrid workplace begins with accurately measuring how your employees are currently feeling.