As employees increasingly demand workplace flexibility, many organizations are opting for a hybrid work model to incorporate remote work options. But what does hybrid actually mean? What about hybrid remote work? We’ll dive into the meaning of these terms in this post as well as some example structures.
What is Hybrid Work?
In essence, hybrid work means that there is a mixed work structure that combines remote work and in-office work.
Hybrid is a wide-ranging term that has different meanings depending on the user. Hybrid work can be used to define a team structure where a portion of the team is in the office and another portion works remotely.
Or, hybrid work can also be used to define an individual working part of the time in the office and part of the time remotely. Some companies, like Cisco and Google, are defining hybrid work in different ways to match their own organizational structures and preferences.
What does Hybrid-Remote Mean?
However, many people use the term hybrid-remote to emphasize location flexibility, often offering fully remote schedules to some employees in addition to hybrid schedules.
If you see the word hybrid-remote used, it’s because there are fully remote options available in the organization.
Example Hybrid Structures
There are two main types of hybrid structures:
Structured hybrid, which is when employees that have location flexibility are required to report into the office a certain number of days a week or month. In extremely structured hybrid scenarios, employees are told which days of the week they need to come into the office.
Flexible hybrid, which is when employees are able to choose which days they work in the office and which days they work remotely.
The types of hybrid work structures that companies have can change from team to team, depending on the needs they have and the services they provide.
Why Do Companies Offer Hybrid Work?
Every company has its own reasons for offering hybrid work instead of fully remote work. However, some of the most common reasons a company will offer a hybrid structure include:
- Some roles, like front-line employees, cannot be done remotely, and so these positions must report to a physical location
- Data security in certain industries and roles may require some employees to report to the office to do certain tasks
- Teams want to collaborate or accomplish other tasks in person
- Employees have individual preferences that lead them to prefer to work in the office rather than remotely
Want to learn more about remote work terms and their meanings? Check out our Remote Work Dictionary.
