What do people need to achieve together?
A discussion about office days can quickly become a discussion about fairness, trust, travel or visibility. These concerns deserve attention. So does the work the organisation needs people to do together.
Start by identifying the activities involved. A new colleague may need access to experienced people. A team may need uninterrupted time for individual work and opportunities to solve a problem together. Different activities can require different arrangements within the same week.
What can research tell us?
Bloom, Han and Liang’s 2024 study in Nature examined a hybrid arrangement at Trip.com. Employees in the treatment group could work from home two days a week. The randomised trial found improved retention without damage to measured performance in that setting.
It is useful evidence for considering hybrid work. The organisation, roles and arrangement studied matter when interpreting it. The next question is how your own work is organised and what evidence would help you assess an arrangement here.
What happens between locations?
Follow a piece of work across the team. Where is information recorded? Who hears an informal decision? Can somebody working elsewhere access the same materials and contribute at the relevant point?
A team can be in one building and still have unclear handovers. It can also be geographically dispersed and have clear responsibilities. Location is part of the arrangement; decision processes, tools and management practice need attention alongside it.
How can a team agree an approach?
Discuss which activities benefit from being together, which need concentration and how people can reach one another. Make expectations about availability, response times and decisions explicit. Consider accessibility, caring responsibilities and the practical demands of different roles.
Use preferences to ask what helps each person prepare and contribute. Avoid assuming that a preference for reflection means somebody wants to work remotely, or that a sociable colleague needs an office every day. Ask about the actual arrangement.
What should you review?
Agree an initial period and evidence relevant to the work. That might include handover quality, customer response, completion of shared tasks, new-starter experience and the team’s account of how the arrangement works.
Listen across roles and locations. An arrangement that works for one group may create an avoidable burden for another. Review the consequences and make adjustments openly, explaining what the organisation has learned and why its decisions follow from that evidence.
Sources and further reading
What would you like to explore?
If this relates to work in your organisation, we can begin with a conversation about your situation and what you want to achieve.
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