Expert Q&A
Dr Sandhya Karpe
Senior research advisor, Human Capital Centre, Asia, The Conference Board, Singapore
Dr Karpe is an expert on diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts in Asia, including the relationship between D&I efforts and future of work trends in the region.
What is hybrid work, in your opinion?
The concept of flexible work was a matter of discussion well before the pandemic. In fact, some companies even offered their employees the flexibility to choose their place of work.
Suddenly, covid-19 triggered forced lockdowns and companies had no option but to pivot to work-from-home models in order to simply ensure business continuity.
As the pandemic continues, employees and companies are beginning to recognise the benefits and cost savings accrued by working from home. Hybrid working—a judicious blend of working from home and office presence—seems to be the favoured model going forward.
Intuitively, hybrid work is about flexibility of choosing where you work from. However, the definition is evolving to encompass a variety of flexible models that include not just the choice of work location, but also flexible time. It can mean giving employees the flexibility to choose preferred working days, as well as the duration of their work weeks.
What are the top benefits of hybrid work?
Hybrid work—though it was initially driven by the need for business continuity, can be highly empowering and energising for employers and employees. It could also save costs on office facilities and utilities.
The emergent hybrid workplace will also enable companies to access broader talent pools, including women who have exited the workforce due to work-life balance challenges, part-timers and gig workers. This is especially critical at a time when talent shortages are rampant across the world.
What are the biggest drawbacks of hybrid work?
The jury is still out in terms of what the long-term effects of hybrid work will be on both companies and employees. Early research indicates that it could create a more uneven playing field for women.
Besides, not all jobs can be performed from home, for example, factory workers or research and development staff. This could create feelings of unfairness.
For employees living in countries with poor connectivity, tech disruptions could be frustrating and counterproductive.
In many Asian countries, including India and Malaysia, it is common for multi-generational families to share living spaces with parents, grandparents and in-laws. In cities and towns, individuals cohabitate in small living spaces that may not be conducive to productive working.
Another key challenge in Asia is the excessive burden of unpaid work on women. Early studies show that men have been using the time and energy conserved because of less commuting to work more, while women have spent it doing more unpaid work at home.
Early findings from research also suggest that, when given a choice, men typically prefer to go into the office whereas women prefer to work from home for better work-life balance. In many Asian cultures, where relationships and “presenteeism”—ie, being seen—are important in getting that next career break or managing stakeholders, those who go into the office will be at a greater advantage.
How can organisations and employees best mitigate these drawbacks, and promote D&I while implementing hybrid work?
Building capabilities in leaders and managers to motivate, retain and inspire people will be a critical success factor.
Authenticity and empathy, which were only “nice to haves” earlier, have risen to the top as essential leadership traits for successful hybrid work. Empathy for the challenges being faced by working women and individuals from diverse socio-economic backgrounds will be especially important. It is not enough for leaders alone to have empathy; this trait needs to be all-pervasive across the organisation.
If cultural shifts do not keep pace with policy and process changes, efforts to implement hybrid work will be derailed. Your leaders will need to visibly “walk the talk”.
An important change that will be necessary is the recalibration of performance metrics. You cannot really observe your employees in action anymore. So, you will need to empower and trust them, and find different ways of assessing their performance. This means less of a focus on the inputs, and more on outcomes or value generated, which will be a tough nut to crack.
What is your three-year outlook for hybrid work?
We still don’t have enough data. But since both employees and employers are clearly seeing the value, the genie may be out of the bottle and hybrid working could very well be here to stay.