Hybrid working: starting in the workplace
Introduction
In this course, you will discover the skills and behaviours required for joining the hybrid workforce, from finding a job, to your first day in post, to managing your wellbeing in the face of change.
In 2005 Halford defined hybrid working as:
‘Being employed to work both at home and also in an organisational setting, using ICTs to maintain workloads and relationships across both domestic and organisational spaces.’
While the definition of hybrid work remains fairly similar in the 2020s, higher-speed broadband, better quality webcams and microphones, and more advanced communication and meeting platforms mean that hybrid working now has the potential to be a more streamlined and efficient experience.
However, hybrid work was still an uncommon practice, even into the late 2010s. It was only the COVID-19 pandemic which accelerated the numbers of hybrid workers, with lockdowns forcing many people to work from home if they could. Almost overnight, the UK remote working population rose from 5% to nearly 50% (Felsted and Reuschke, 2020). This was obviously a dramatic change for many workers and their households, and organisations had to rush to adapt to this new era of working. Weekly online meetings, ‘log-in’ checks, and rapid virtual messaging all became more commonplace, and within a few months the way we worked had changed forever.
This free course is part of the Supporting hybrid working and digital transformation collection [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .