I am one of the very fortunate beneficiaries of a hybrid working arrangement. This arrangement has shown me and the rest of the world that, depending on the work we do, we can respond to calls of duty from anywhere.
What freedom. The flexibility gives me two more hours a day for my family.
It also gives me the opportunity to find the balance between full-time work and full-time motherhood and actually catch a few balls instead of dropping them all.
It has had a tremendously positive impact on my mental and physical health, as it allows me to meet all the demands of my job while still enjoying the benefits of working in an office.
Why should we ever give up this globalized approach to work?
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I enjoy the luxury of my office days
In my role as Media and Communications Manager at Shine Lawyers, I enjoy going to the office.
On my office days, I have the luxury of getting dressed in the morning, which can feel like necessary self-care, especially for a mom who lives in leggings and sloppy knitwear on work-from-home days.
I can enjoy a podcast on the train, sip a barista-made (and still warm (see note on motherhood)) coffee on the way to the office, and have stimulating conversations with colleagues who fill my cup.
But if you ask working mothers, most would still rather spend time with their babies than commuting to work.
On the days I work from home, I have the advantage of sleeping longer, which in turn gives me the mental energy and strength to accomplish more during my workday.
I also have a reasonable end to my working day, which allows me to happily pick up my children from daycare.
It also allows me to be a sometimes thoughtful mother who has time to be present and patient while my children worry about what to wear to daycare or what to eat for breakfast.
No part of me believes we can have it all at once (I do believe we can have it all at different times in our lives), but I think hybrid work arrangements are the closest to the balance that workplaces can offer their employees, and I’m not alone in that opinion.
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People who work from home are proven to be more efficient
Nick Bloom is an economist at Stanford and has been researching hybrid work since 2010.
His research at the time found that people who worked exclusively from home were 13 percent more productive, took fewer and shorter breaks, and quit less often despite working harder than their colleagues who worked full-time in the office.
Covid gave Bloom the opportunity to make the globe his biggest test case.
The pandemic provided an opportunity to test productivity, satisfaction and success in hybrid work environments.
The results were not surprising.
Those who worked from home were happier with their jobs and suffered less burnout (though they were more productive), and reported an improvement in the sometimes elusive work-life balance. Yet CEOs and executives continue to push for a return to the office model.
Bloom calls these leaders “flat-Earthers,” people who cling to a disproven theory that holds back progress and pushes us back to a standard that few are willing to accept.
The best workplaces strive to meet our needs
Many will say that connecting with colleagues and attending meetings in person is crucial for personal and professional development.
To this end, workplaces can offer office days for everyone, in which everyone participates equally in order to benefit from the exchange with colleagues.
Others will say that the generations before us did this for years and without complaint, but most workers do not want to go back.
Just because something was done a certain way decades ago doesn’t mean it’s the best way to do it in the future.
However, when we accept a job, it is called “work” not “play,” and this contractual obligation includes a promise to follow the rules and regulations of the workplace.
If we don’t like it, we don’t have to be there, and that’s the plain and simple truth.
Not every workplace has rules that meet our individual needs, but the better workplaces do, and that’s where we should all look for employment.
Even though I won’t die from working from home, I have enjoyed this perk and hope to continue to enjoy it until my kids are well into school.
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