Hybrid Work Policies need to be Flexible

The concept of hybrid models of work has emerged from a need for flexibility. On the other hand, company policies are inherently not flexible. So, can employers really have policies that work for hybrid models of work? These are early days, and very few employers have drafted policies, let alone put them to test. Some have started doing so and seem to have begun by identifying different job roles or re-defying existing roles. The next step has been to identify the best location to perform the role best, like home or central office or a satellite office, and policies are being imagined around these. Casting such policies in stone will go against the basis of hybrid working, which is flexibility. Location flexibility is not good enough; one may need time flexibility and other forms of flexibility. One size does not fit all. Policymaking itself needs to addressed and flexibility needs to be ingrained into it. Today, employers do not like it when things are ‘done to them’. They want to co-create solutions. Employers need to stop saying that they will get everything back to the way things were; as this is quite likely to set them ‘back’.