The Hybrid Work Disaster

Hybrid work discourages initiative and agility

As the COVID 19 pandemic subsided a power struggle ensued. Senior management in most companies wanted their comfort blankets back. They loved and missed their offices. They liked the idea of being able to walk around and see people working and felt uncomfortable when they couldn’t do that. They fretted about loss of company culture, loss of creativity and collaboration and that they might lose their large status affirming offices. Employees saw this very differently. They’d seen what looked like Nirvana and they were determined to hold on to it.

So, hybrid working materialised, with employees working between one and three days from home and mandated to be in the office for the rest of the week. Hybrid is a poorly thought out compromise developed for all of the wrong reasons with few actual benefits. In a world where rapid changes in technology mean organisations and their staff need to be capable of initiative, dynamism and agility, the rigidity of hybrid work encourages the very opposite.

A framework for organising office work effectively

This book works though all of the models of office work from fully office based to fully remote with hybrid and flexible work in between and shows you how to better organise work whatever model you decide to go for. It provides a framework for organising office work around the future of work rather than hanging on to outdated and inefficient processes. Over 2 years of research has gone into this book and it’s a must buy guide for managers at all levels who want to make a difference.

About the author

Gren Gale is a prolific writer on the future of work and project management. He was named as one of the top 50 influencers in Project Management by Leaders Hum and one of the top 19 influencers in the Future of Work by Analytica.

Reviews

“The author provides an excellent view of the value of hybrid working. While Amazon and others are issuing back to work directives, Gale takes a different view – that more, not less flexibility is needed to meet the demand for rapid change that AI will bring and to recruit and retain the brightest and best. He quite rightly points out the myth that the office is a place where creativity flourishes was debunked by academic research dating back to the 1950s, so it seems bizarre that CEOs continue to cite this as a major reason for work being based in offices.” ​ Amazon

“This book has been extensively researched by the author and provides an absolutely essential read for any company, organisation or business considering introducing hybrid, home or flexible working for staff. What’s more the book is very well written and provides an easy read. The various options are considered and the pros and cons of each are clearly explained.” Amazon

“Having experienced the types of working discussed in the book I could identify with many of the issues that were identified, all the topics have been fully referenced. This book is a must read for any organisations considering remote, hybrid or office based working.” Amazon