Analysis: the new world of work has created many challenges, especially when it comes to the culture within many organisations
By Sean O'Neill, Sarah Kieran, University of Limerick and Christine Cross, Edinburgh Napier University
Debate continues about hybrid work. Is it actually working or would it be better (and easier) for organisations if all employees returned to the office? Our research at the Kemmy Business School Work Future's Lab at the University of Limerick highlights that there are pros and cons for both organisation and employee when it comes to hybrid work.
Aside from issues of trust, management control, and health and wellbeing, there's also the challenge which organisations often refer to as culture. Is it possible to keep employees engaged, collaborative, innovative and in-tune with an organisation when they are coming and going from the office? Can organisations build a culture that facilitates collaboration and problem solving and makes the best use of both virtual and office spaces?
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From RTÉ Radio 1's This Week, Linda Hynes from law firm Lewis Silkin on hybrid working
Collaboration
When you look at the important factors that underpin how we work together and how work cultures are created, collaboration is one of the big ones. When hybrid workers are at home, there may be less access to visual cues from colleagues, less opportunities to learn by observation, and less visibility of the workers themselves.
This is not just an issue when it comes to trust, but may also affect areas such as building social bonds and receiving support from management. There is a spontaneity about discussions that take place in the micro-moments we experience in the office, which is hard to replicate virtually.
Can micro-moments be created in a hybrid workplace? There are groups that can be created on messaging tools or online platforms which can encourage micro-moments of engagement, but leaders and managers need to nurture these virtual spaces. Essentially, it is about creating spaces where there is no particular goal in mind to the discussion or building spaces and prompts in and around more formal meetings to question and reflect.
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From RTÉ Brainstorm, is it really bonkers to use an algorithm to hire a person?
Psychological safety and support
Employers should aim at making it safe for employees to bring up problems and creating spaces where they can engage in creative problem solving. To improve in this area, leaders and managers can actively encourage reflection and knowledge capture and should be coached around how to do this.
Assigning mentors or virtual buddies to new hires is critical to providing early support. Aside from guiding discussions and creating spaces for problems to be raised, organisations can try to understand more about how discussions and problem solving mindsets can be nourished from the bottom up. There are many creative online tools that can help in this regard by driving design thinking and innovation.
When it comes to encouraging knowledge sharing, developing a central repository of information which employees can refer to anytime and anywhere would be useful. However, organisations should be aware of information overload. For this reason, developing a narrative that helps guide employees when it comes to prioritising such information will be important.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland, Dr Jane Bourke from UCC on new research into wellbeing in the workplace
Learning on the job
Many learning and development managers and coaches will be familiar with the 70/20/10 model of learning in the workplace, which implies that 70% of learning is experiential, on the job and informal. This could be through observation of colleagues or problem based learning.
While the accuracy of this model may be affected by hybrid working and advances in technology, it would be useful for organisations to understand how place of work applies to this kind of learning. When we observe colleagues in virtual spaces, for instance, is it the same or what is different? This is an area we need to understand further in order to facilitate problems solving and collaboration
In reflecting on these areas, organisations can do more to understand how the nature of tasks could be used to best determine the place of work for employees within the hybrid environment. Some tasks requiring a high degree of collaboration may be better suited to the office, while others could be done more autonomously and so from home. Understanding this can help organisations get the most out of precious time in the office.
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From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, behavioural psychologist Pádraig Walsh on how a cuppa among workmates could lead to a much friendlier workplace
Creating a supportive culture
Creating a culture which involves evaluation and iteration is best, where organisations are adaptable and flexible to feedback from their environment. This is best led from the top, so leadership and management should consider what spaces can be created and how best to perform within such spaces.
These spaces should create opportunities for different perspectives through shared brainstorming sessions which can engage workers and increase social bonds. When it comes to communication, both synchronous and asynchronous methods should be chosen. This can help limit the impact of online fatigue, where synchronous meetings are overused virtually to replicate what likely should happen in the office. By choosing the best medium to deal with particular issues, whether that’s text based chat where employees can respond in their own time or a forum or message board, organisations can address some of the current challenges.
When it comes to new recruits, newcomers may find some of these issues even more challenging than existing employees. By making the baseline how we create a culture and set of practices that support newcomers entering a hybrid work environment, we might find the impact on our existing employees and culture is profound.
Sean O'Neill is a PhD student in the Kemmy School of Business at the University of Limerick. Dr. Sarah Kieran is Assistant Dean, Academy and Lecturer in the Department of Work and Employment Studies in the Kemmy School of Business at the University of Limerick. Prof Christine Cross is Professor of Human Resource Management and Dean of the Business School at Edinburgh Napier University.
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
