How to fix your hybrid work mess

Hello and welcome to Working It.

Last week I walked into a huge room full of people. . . and I realized that I didn’t know anyone. Absolute social horror 😰.

This was an alumni drinks party at my college (St Catherine’s, Oxford) and while I found a few close contemporaries who were charming, I also got to chat to new people.

I ambushed a friendly looking stranger, Alice Sheldon. And then she launched into an engaging conversation, as opposed to superficial networking, about her innovative work. I will write more about this in the next newsletter. Sometimes random connections can bring the terrifying unknown 🍀.

Read the latest on the future of hybrid and flexible work from a subject matter expert—not me, that is—and advice to someone with a low-energy team member at Office Therapy.

Bend your hybrid: what are the latest ideas for work?

Last week’s newsletter about the need for a “4+2+2” balance in our workdays (four hours of focus time + two hours of collaboration time + two hours of rest and connection) prompted me to take a deeper look at how and where we work . . Specifically: what is the current state of the RTO/hybrid/WFH debate? What trends are around the corner? (And will these shortcuts ever end? 🤷‍♀️)

This week I took time out from the FT’s Women in Business Summit to ask one of our speakers all about it. Brian Elliott, formerly of Slack and Google, is now a senior consultant and bestselling co-author How the future works: Leading flexible teams to do the best work of their lives. I asked him to describe the most common workplace issue he encounters with clients and the US labor scene more generally (he’s from San Francisco).

“People take a one-size-fits-all approach to where and when employees work, he told me. Brian is referring to the very common practice of employers requiring employees to be in the office on certain days, usually Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays 📆: the formula that defines hybrid work. “This is causing a lot of backlash,” he continued. Instead, Brian asks leaders to get over their anger that people who have stayed away are disobeying—and look deeper. “Let’s not focus on the potential solution of getting people into the office more often. We’ve seen people react negatively to you before. Let’s look instead at what the underlying business problem is that we’re trying to solve.”

So if your business is struggling with office attendance non-compliance, one answer may be to distract executives from surveying the lack of staffing and associated concerns that people are spending “four hours a day walking the dog” at home. 🐕” (genuine concern).

Instead, you can suggest refining and defining clear performance-driven deliverables and goals for everyone, at individual and team levels, as well as for the entire organization. “Trust is not a one-way street.” This only works if you hold people accountable for performance and you need to know what your performance standards are. You all need to know what the top three priorities are as an organization.”

That doesn’t mean we don’t need to spend time with colleagues. Far from it. The next phase of the hybrid is already underway: some companies are spending money internally to hire (and that’s my definition, not Brian’s) corporate party planners 🎊. He cites the example of US online real estate agency Zillow, which has reduced the number of its offices so that more people are working remotely in more distributed locations. But now he “funds team meetings at least quarterly. They have a central team that helps organize these things.”

In this scenario, Zillow brings together different teams—for example, finance and human resources—and offers them a three-day agenda with a mix of individual and joint meetings. “It really builds a deeper sense of belonging,” Brian said.

Have you cracked the hybrid job? Write me an email: isabel.berwick@ft.com.

This week on the Working It podcast

If you’re in awe of AI, we’ve got the answer: Working It has a miniseries exploring different aspects of generative AI at work and how it’s likely to affect us. This week’s episode is the first of three on this topic, and we start by talking about something that’s already happening: digital assistants. Do you ever wish there were two people doing your job?

Some people program themselves into a digital twin that can answer emails, go to meetings, and completely recall all the data you’ll ever need. I speak with Iliana Oris Valiente, Managing Director of Accenture Canada, and her digital twin Laila. Then I speak to the FT’s AI editor Madhumita Murgi about some of the key questions and concerns.

Office therapy

Problem: What to do with a colleague who is competent but has zero energy and doesn’t really communicate? They have been with the organization for years and have always been – we just went through a reorganization and they ended up with our team. While not miserable or pessimistic, they operate in a languid bubble. Finally, we finish their sentences 🥱. Their view applies to all of us.

Isabel’s advice: This is such a nuanced issue because you say their performance is fine so you don’t have anything specific to address. In your next face-to-face meeting, mention that you noticed they were quiet.

No one should be forced to share personal information – and if that team member doesn’t want to, I’d describe it as “everyone’s got something going on” and make it clear you’re always available to chat, highlight the resources your employer offers for confidential support etc.

Then focus on building morale. It’s summer: how about an event like a walking tour, outdoor theater/performance or cooking class? Preferably something where there is a clear focus on activity rather than just socializing – which favors boisterous extroverts. Organized entertainment can be difficult and alienating, but if you practice inclusion – in the true sense of the word, including each – then you have made a positive intervention.

Five top stories from the world of work

1. Quiet layoffs are rarely as quiet as bosses hope: PwC asked employees who accepted the buyout to use approved wording in emails announcing their departure — and it failed. Andrew Hill explores better ways.

2. Meetings in the Metaverse: new technology draws workers into virtual offices: The metaverse hype has died down, but as Hannah Murphy points out, there’s still plenty of virtual activity going on in the workplace. Don’t write it off.

3. If employees do not want to continue working, managers should intensify: Employees are disillusioned and disengaged. Stefan Stern outlines some ways business leaders and managers can get it right.

4. The waning allure of foreign broadcasting: Working abroad used to be a much sought-after adventure – but as Pilita Clark points out, the rise of dual-career couples and technology that makes it easier to work with global teams has caused demand for these jobs to drop.

5. Employers are trying to ease the pressure of fertility treatment on employees by: It used to be very difficult to get time off for IVF and other fertility appointments – this is fast changing as employers start to introduce more flexibility and employee benefits, writes Emily Herbert.

One more thing

Have you seen the FT video series on democracy? It was put into operation for 2024, this strange year when almost half the world goes to the polls. (France just joined us 🇫🇷.)

In the videos, four famous women—including Margaret Atwood, the writer, and (my favorite) Aditi Mittal, the Indian comedian and actress—discuss the importance of democracy and the threats it faces. Created by the FT’s head of new formats Juliet Riddell, the project has taken on a life of its own: last week it inspired a fantastic live event, part of the London International Theater Festival (LIFT). And there is a book: Eleven Writers and Leaders on Democracy: What it is and why it matters.

And finally . . .

I caught up with many readers at FT Live’s Women in Business Summit in London, where a live panel on flexible working (and its potential downsides for women) included insights from Microsoft’s Colette Stallbaumer. Co-founder of WorkLab and CEO of Copilot, its AI chatbot, she reminded us that generative AI will change everything about knowledge work, flexible or otherwise. (I take this opportunity to mention again this useful research by Microsoft and LinkedIn that outlines the current state of AI affairs.)

It occurred to me that AI could also change the focus of every panel and keynote that takes place at workplace events like the FT Summit. We may have very different looking conferences in the future. (Sorry, conference organizers). However, I don’t think bots will replace real panel members 🤖. Feel free to disagree: isabel.berwick@ft.com.