The Hybrid Work Model is the new way of life. Gone are those days when we scouted to office five-six days a week. The entire world has just become a smaller place. And, all thanks to the Corona Virus for that. It has been a tight slap on our face, a stringent lesson to our ego and a reality check to all of us who had it all sorted three years back. If Covid 19 and the last three years have taught us anything at all, it is all about how we can live so much more with so much less. The last three years have taught us how to give up our big office spaces. It has taught us how beautifully we can work from the smaller closet spaces in our houses, it has taught us how much more we can deliver from the sanctity and simplicity of our homes. And the last three years have taught us how to trust each other more rather than the rules and policies around. That way Covid 19 has been an eye opener.

This topic also takes me back to my first job at a KPO in Info Park Kochi 12 years before. I had been into that team for around 2 years then. My first ever team, my first ever manager. In those 2 years I would have slogged additional hours on many days and I hardly exceeded my one hour break. Then a friend visited from hometown once and we went out for dinner. And on that night, for the first time ever probably I exceeded my one hour break by another 30 minutes. The moment I am back at my seat, my manager comes up behind me, bends over my desk and he tells me “Sindhu, I believe you are going in the wrong track now’. I still cringe at those words thinking he said that to me just for taking an extra 30 minutes break which brings me back to the current situation of work from home/hybrid work model. We are way past those days of micro-management now. Today, we live in an era where we are no more made to feel guilty for working from our comfort zones, for spending time with our families while working, for taking care of our mental health or for taking a break just because we want to take one or feel like it. Today a lot of candidates are walking into job interviews demanding work from home or hybrid work option because we have just realized nothing matters as much as our 'space'. 

This hybrid work model has offered us flexibility like never before. You don’t need to commute much these days. You don’t need to dress up. You need minimum planning. Thus it gives you more time, space, energy and money to play with. On a personal note, as a woman it has helped me navigate seamlessly through a difficult pregnancy. It has helped me stay with my rainbow baby (born after 3 miscarriages) even after 6 months of maternity. It has helped me play with my toddler and see her grow up every day. It has helped me see my parents spent priceless moments with their first ever grandchild, none of which would have been possible if we were working from office alone. We need to understand there is no going back to these moments, if missed once. And, as human beings ultimately we are all living for this. So this hybrid work model is lot more than about ‘just work’. It has showed us that you can impeccably work at 3 tasks at the same time while still singing a lullaby to your baby. It has showed us that work life is cooler without the ‘white floors’. It has made us realize that no roof is going to come crashing down if we attend a personal phone call while working. It has broken the many myths associated with the so called ‘IT Industry’. It has shown us that being human comes first and it is totally okay to think so. The hybrid work model is thus setting a new trend, a trend about all the small things that matter in life. While most people were chasing after success, glamour, and fame earlier, the hybrid work model today calls out to us with a smaller, quieter, calmer voice. It tells us to slow down, worry less, but enjoy more.

It is not just the employees but the Employers also stand to benefit from this new work culture. It has brought down the cost of transportation, utilities and maintenance for many companies. These reduced bills and expenses are in turn coming out as better profits & returns for all and resulting in add on privileges for employees. For instance, a lot of companies today are offering fully paid workation and staycation packages to employees. Some companies have also gone one step ahead and completely given up the lease on their office buildings etc. transcending these savings to better alternate options. So the new work from home/hybrid work model in the IT industry is a win-win for all. It promotes flexibility, improves productivity and efficiency, helps build better personal and work relationships, leads to improved satisfaction for all and results in a more positive work culture.

Having said that, this hybrid work model with all its benefits comes with some challenges too. There is always that ‘questionable integrity’ factor that’s hanging behind our heads like never before. We need to be more careful and mindful of each step we take while working from home especially for the reason that no one is watching us now and this automatically brings us ‘more’ under the radar. Anything and everything that we do would be scrutinized more and looked upon with more ‘suspicion’ now. Thus, this new model calls for increased accountability and responsibility. We all saw the Wipro incident where so many of their employees were sacked for unethical conduct of business while working from home. There is also that factor of ‘working forever’ since we are working from home now. Many of us work beyond the stipulated time on many days now since the lap is always around. We cannot deny that it has had a toll on our mental and physical well-being. Add to these,  the less ‘face-time’ it creates between colleagues, elevated disconnect between teams, poor communication, increased risk of home isolation etc. and one could say the new work model comes with its own shades of grey.

So like the two sides of a coin, the work from home/hybrid setup also has its own pros and cons. It is up to us how we make use of this prospect. Our deeds would ultimately decide if this new work model would make or break us in the long run. I would say let’s make maximum out of this opportunity while we can but without sacrificing even a tad bit of our professionalism, values or work ethics. Like the saying goes, let our work speak for us because ‘It is not the job you do, it’s how you do the job’ that matters.