Hybrid working - where optimism meets anxiety

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Executive coach and organisational change expert, Phephile Simelane, has been assisting corporates with implementing hybrid work policies and said there was uncertainty around how to make these work for both employee and employer.

Ongoing debate

“There is disagreement at senior level within organisations and ongoing debate about whether or not it is something they want to do. This is worsened by the low vaccination rate and uncertainty around mandatory vaccination policies. Although we are two years into the pandemic, it has not been consistent,” she said.

Simelane said businesses needed to ensure a safe working environment for their employees. “The trend at the moment is a hybrid model, using individualised approaches. The vaccine has been a game-changer, but it comes down to how you engage your staff to make the call about where people need to work.”

Crystal Hoole, organisational psychologist, and president of the Society for Industrial and Organisational Psychology of South Africa (SIOPSA) said some big corporates were actually nervous of their staff. “Organisations feel vulnerable as they don’t know how the pandemic is going to continue to play out. As a result, they don’t want to pronounce on working from home, although we have yet to see a ‘great resignation’ trend in South Africa – with high unemployment people cannot just leave their jobs”.

Work psychologist and SIOPSA president elect, Sharon Munyaka said many corporates were unsure about what to do due to the fear of the unknown, “as opposed to a reluctance to act”. She favoured a hybrid working model, and said people needed social connection. “Working from home is fantastic, but on the flip side it has become frustrating - the need to be plugged in is higher, meetings are back-to-back and work hours seem to be getting longer and longer. People are anxious about their job security, mainly linked to the economy and their employers’ financial performance. Being in the office is important because it provides social connection and enables collaboration with colleagues.”

Relearning the art of small talk

Many of us have lost the essential art of office chit-chat after months at home and need to remind ourselves how to discuss the weather or plans for the weekend. But these seemingly innocuous conversations are important to build stronger working relationships. In the United Kingdom, some out-of-practice employees are turning to small talk coaching – taking conversational training courses - to better prepare them.

“We are wired for connection, and we need those water cooler conversations. With an upsurge in mental health challenges, we need to bring humanity back to the centre of our workplace and find meaningful ways of working that encourage productivity and enhance our mental, emotional and physical well-being,” said Munyaka.

Need for innovation

Hoole said most companies’ HR policies were inflexible and outdated. “We talk about innovation but many of the practices and behaviours are not there to support this. There is not enough of an incentive for business to change these policies unless staff put their foot down. Pilots need to be done to see if hybrid models can be adopted successfully.”