Hybrid Work: How to Manage the Workplace

Hybrid work is a model that has gained a lot of prominence in recent times, especially after the end of social isolation. This model integrates both remote work and in-person work, which allows for greater productivity and quality of life for employees, while also maintaining a level of socialization among people. As a result, it has become a model that is highly valued and preferred by employees.

According to the second part of Microsoft’s annual report on work trends, titled “Great Expectations: Making Hybrid Work Work”, 57% of employees currently working remotely prefer to transition to the hybrid model.

With the return to the office, one of the most common challenges has been workplace management—especially under the hybrid model—since it is necessary to reconcile employee schedules with the available space. In this article, you’ll learn about the challenges of returning to the office and how to simplify your management process through effective tools and solutions.

What you will see in this content:

• The importance of managing the workplace

• Workplace challenges and how to solve them

• Tools for work management

The Importance of Managing the Workplace

With the pandemic, many employees had to adapt and embrace the home office work model, experiencing a completely different routine from what they had when working in person. Now, with the return to the workplace—especially under the hybrid model—this routine requires a new adjustment, as it is often a new situation for the entire company.

To manage this workplace, a great deal of organization is needed, along with attention to the needs of both employees and the company. When analyzing the effect of this management, the results are very positive, and below we highlight the importance of having a well-defined workplace management system:

Boosting Productivity

Productivity in the workplace is associated with several factors, and one of them is the functionality of the environment. In an organized space, the ability to focus increases, making employees more productive and generating benefits for everyone.

In addition, the work model itself also impacts productivity. According to Microsoft’s report, 80% of surveyed workers stated that they have remained or become more productive since their jobs transitioned to remote or hybrid models.

A comfortable environment that fosters productivity can also impact employee motivation, as they feel more productive and are able to deliver better work.

Avoiding Conflicts

Conflicts in organizational environments are possible, but many of them can be avoided through good management. Regarding the workplace, preventing them requires creating a functional and organized environment with well-established rules. This helps prevent clashes, fosters collaboration among teams, and optimizes employees’ time.

A very common case occurs with meeting rooms, where problems arise due to lack of booking or scheduling errors. This prevents groups from carrying out their activities or forces them to waste time searching for another solution. Another recurring conflict in the hybrid model is related to the scheduling of employees going to the office, especially when no rules are in place. This can lead to situations where employees arrive and do not have a workstation (desk and equipment) available.

These are just a few examples of conflicts that can exist in the workplace due to poor or absent space management, highlighting the importance of defining processes and rules for the hybrid model.

Optimizing Time

As in the examples mentioned above, conflicts not only generate employee dissatisfaction with the company but also increase costs. When time is considered a resource, and spaces are poorly used, it becomes clear how failures in the management of physical space can impact the organization.

For example, when meeting rooms are not reserved in advance or when scheduling errors occur, time costs are incurred in searching for or moving to another room.

With proper management of these spaces, in addition to making better use of available resources, employees’ time is also optimized, since they will not face conflicts or have to look for last-minute solutions.

Reducing Physical Space Costs

A major advantage of hybrid work is the reduction of infrastructure costs, which include rent, building fees, electricity, water, food waste in cafeterias, and more. This is because the company’s space can be smaller while still accommodating the same number of employees, thanks to the office occupancy schedule.

When analyzing the effectiveness of the hybrid model and the use of physical resources, the company’s managerial vision becomes more strategic, allowing for decisions that can directly impact costs—such as expanding or reducing physical space, or even adopting another work model.

Increasing Employee Satisfaction

Many employees became accustomed to the home office model, and upon returning to the office, a large portion chose hybrid work. According to Microsoft’s study, 57% of surveyed remote workers are considering a transition to the hybrid model in the coming year.

In addition, an interesting finding is that 38% of global hybrid employees say their biggest challenge is understanding when and why they need to meet in person at the office. In other words, while there is a preference for the hybrid model, it must be well-structured within the company, providing clarity for everyone. In this way, employee satisfaction tends to increase, as it combines flexibility with effectiveness in daily practice.

Workplace Challenges When Adopting the Hybrid Model and How to Solve Them

The hybrid work model is relatively new in the Brazilian market, which brings several challenges and, therefore, requires an action plan for specific situations. With this in mind, we’ve highlighted some challenges that may arise in your company and how they can be solved:

Health-Related Access Security

With the pandemic, concerns about health have intensified, especially with Covid-19 due to its airborne transmission. According to the report, 71% of surveyed Brazilians stated that they are now more likely to prioritize health and well-being over work compared to the pre-pandemic period.

To ensure employee safety, practices that have become common include temperature checks, verifying employees’ and visitors’ health conditions or vaccination records, and the use of masks. These conditions vary according to government regulations and company policies, but they must be considered important when resuming semi-presential work, as they help create more safety and well-being for people.

Employee Well-Being

This challenge is present in any work model, but hybrid work requires additional care since it is still a relatively new experience. According to Microsoft research, employee well-being is also linked to the level of connection with the team: people with good relationships report higher well-being (76%), while only 57% of those with poor relationships say they feel well.

The study also shows that those with good relationships report greater productivity and are less likely to change jobs in the coming year. Therefore, these factors are extremely important and must be considered in work management.

As a solution, it is important to evaluate employee satisfaction in their day-to-day work and with the model itself, understanding whether processes and management approaches are aligned with team expectations. In this context, analyze employees’ routines and the best way to organize the days they need to be in the office, the use of common areas, and how these are being managed.

It is also important to evaluate the equipment needed to perform work, considering what should be brought to the office and how employees are accommodated in the space—at this point, take into account the ergonomics of desks and chairs, as well as the accessories and devices that may need to be transported between home and work, since this can create strain for employees.

In addition, consider other practices that promote motivation and productivity, such as workplace exercise sessions, team-building events, happy hours, and recognition programs. The interesting aspect of these activities is that they can be carried out both in person and remotely.

Employee Scheduling

How will scheduling work on in-office days? Will it be defined by departments, tasks, or projects?

Having a schedule based on the company’s needs and priorities is extremely important, as it ensures better productivity and integration among employees, helps avoid conflicts, and reduces costs.

To achieve this, plan with managers from each area the best way to define the schedule and create clear processes. In addition, it is also important to maintain some flexibility for employees, since they also need to adapt to the new routine.

Common Spaces

As mentioned earlier, common spaces are excellent for carrying out activities and integrating teams, but they can also create conflicts if not properly managed.

To ensure more effective use of workplace spaces, advance booking becomes a highly effective solution, as it allows everyone to plan ahead for using these areas.

By adopting this practice—especially for meeting rooms—the company can make better use of its spaces (considering room size in relation to the number of people), make meetings more productive, and avoid conflicts caused by last-minute room changes or misuse.

Misuse of Space

A very common challenge is the improper use of space. For example, a meeting room with 20 chairs is not being used efficiently if it is occupied by only one person or a small group, especially when there are other areas or smaller rooms that would better meet that demand. From a management perspective, misuse of these spaces generates unnecessary costs for the company.

Another aspect of hybrid work is the underutilization of spaces left empty after adopting the model, such as areas that previously hosted workstations and are now unused. One suggestion is to convert these areas into interaction zones or meeting rooms, which is a more effective approach.

Thus, to make better use of workplace environments, the ideal strategy is to assign activities and usage schedules according to the purpose of each space. This way, environments can be better adapted to the company’s needs, avoiding costs and motivating employees with a more functional workplace.

Managing Effectiveness

Another challenge of the hybrid model is managing its effectiveness within the company. Since it is a new situation, this monitoring requires even more attention.

To gain greater clarity about how the hybrid model is working, it is ideal to measure the effectiveness of both home office and in-person work, since only through this management will it be possible to make strategic decisions—such as renting another office or reducing the current space. For this, it is necessary to understand employee needs, the effectiveness of physical space usage, the scheduling method applied, the relationship between remote and in-person work, among other key points. With this data in hand, workplace management becomes much more effective.

Internal Processes

For a company’s management to work well, processes and rules are fundamental, as previously mentioned, and this remains true in the hybrid model, which requires adaptations.

These internal processes can be applied, for example, to employee scheduling for in-office days—with days defined by department—, to meeting room reservations with rules regarding capacity and advance notice, to decisions on which equipment should or should not be taken to the office, and to the integration between in-person and remote teams, especially during meetings and shared activities, among other situations.

Once well-defined, these processes should be documented and clearly communicated to all employees.

Workplace Planning

When it comes to physical space, organizing the environment is extremely necessary to ensure good circulation and maintain order. However, this is a challenge in the hybrid model, since people and departments alternate days in the office.

To make everything run smoothly, a highly recommended option is to design and effectively plan the organizational space for everyone, taking into account desks, hallways, meeting rooms, and break rooms. It is also important to consider external areas such as parking.

Tools for Workplace Management

Technology greatly facilitates the office management process, bringing more practicality to people’s daily routines, optimizing time, and reducing costs in other areas. Some useful tools include:

Calendars

An excellent option to help with meeting room reservations is electronic calendars. Your company’s email service probably already has an integrated calendar. To use it, make the room’s calendar visible to everyone and establish clear booking rules. Great options include Google Calendar and Microsoft 365.

Spreadsheets

You are probably already using spreadsheets in your daily routine, and they can also be great allies in managing the schedule of employees going to the office. Define rules according to departments, projects, roles, or other variables that make sense for the company. Relate these rules to the capacity of available spaces to make planning easier.

Since this is a manual schedule, it is recommended to regularly monitor and evaluate its effectiveness.

Ticketing System

Another useful tool is the ticketing or request system, especially for the maintenance of systems and equipment. There are options available on the market, but the company can also develop its own system according to its needs.

This type of tool is important to centralize communication, optimize costs, and save time for both the requesters and those performing the repairs.

Company Access Control

As mentioned earlier, ensuring employees’ health security in this post-pandemic period is key. One option is to use a tool that controls access to the company for both employees and visitors. In addition to security, these tools streamline processes and optimize the time of everyone involved.

Results Evaluation

To have a strategic view of workplace management, the first step is to understand the data being generated. Some useful tools for this include Excel charts and Power BI.

With this data, decision-making becomes easier and more accurate, generating a positive impact for the company.

Centralized Tool for Hybrid Work Management

For more complete, automated, and practical management with analytical report generation, Skedway is a centralized tool that allows booking meeting rooms, workstations, and parking spaces, as well as providing building access control and ticketing features.

The main advantage of this tool is the convenience of performing all these actions from a single platform, in addition to generating reports with cross-data analysis, which enables managers to have a strategic view of space usage.

With this strategic company vision, decision-making is strengthened, allowing for cost reduction with other tools, optimization of employee time, and accurate evaluation of the hybrid model. This generates insights into employee engagement, company processes, and even real estate costs, such as the need to expand or reduce office space.

Try the complete workspace management tool free for 30 days.

Thus, the hybrid work model requires functional space management so that all activities are carried out satisfactorily and in an organized way, avoiding conflicts and optimizing resources. With everything well defined, the model becomes much more efficient and sustainable.