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Hybrid work is becoming more and more the “new normality” trans-passing the temporary moment. In this new situation, leaders have been wondering: “how can we build an inclusive hybrid culture?”

When it comes to designing an inclusive hybrid work culture, organizations, and teams within them, find their selves facing three main tensions:

1. Working anytime vs working all the time

The first tension presented is giving individuals the opportunity to choose when they work without imposing, intentionally or not, the expectation that they can be always available. This can be done by clarifying to your team members that they have the chance to choose when they want to work, making sure that they are well aware that there should be times when they are offline.

This can benefit their engagement and protect their well-being at the same time since they would be in power of their own schedule.

2. Isolation vs invasion

The chance to interact with others fosters the sense of belonging to a team or an organization. By introducing hybrid work solutions, employees would be attending the office less frequently and therefore feel more isolated than before. At the same time, leaders should be aware that scheduling many videocalls can contribute to an invasion of private time and of personal space.

These two aspects can be balanced by the creation of a specific moment that can be used by the employees to gather, connect, and establish or strengthening friendship ties.

3. Possible vs preferred

The introduction of hybrid or online work allows more flexibility both time and space wise. At the same time, it has been reported that by choosing this new approach to work, employees have been stereotyped as less committed and not worthy of rewards. Therefore, it is critical that everyone in the organization is conscious about the own time and activities to do, in order to help setting new norms and habits.

The right balance varies from organization to organization depending on the priorities, the employees, and their interests. Leaders that recognize their company or team in the situations described in this article will be already a step ahead in building a more inclusive culture.