Mastering Hybrid Work

A hybrid work policy is a flexible work arrangement document that typically outlines the guidelines, expectations, and procedures for employees. 

Under a hybrid work policy, employees may be required to spend a certain amount of time in the office each week or month while also having the flexibility to work from home or another location for the rest of the time. The exact requirements and arrangements may vary depending on the company,the nature of the work, and the chosen hybrid work model.

Hybrid work policies have potential challenges, such as collaboration issues, maintaining company culture, setting transparent legal aspects, and ensuring employees feel connected to their colleagues and the organization. However, careful planning and communication can overcome many of these challenges.

Now, in this chapter we will discuss the elements that need to be included in such a policy, at at the very end you will find a hybrid work policy template that you could use as a base for your own policy.

Let’s get going!

What can happen when a company doesn’t have a hybrid work policy? 

When a company doesn’t have a hybrid work policy, it can lead to confusion, uncertainty, and potential issues for employees and employers.

Here are some of the possible consequences of not having a clear hybrid policy: 

1. Inconsistency: Without a clear policy, managers and supervisors may interpret hybrid work arrangements differently, leading to inconsistencies in work schedules, communication expectations, and performance management. 

2. Lack of clarity: Without guidelines, employees may be unclear about what is expected of them when working remotely, which can lead to misunderstandings and confusion. 

3. Decreased productivity: Without clear expectations, employees may struggle to manage their time effectively or feel disconnected from the team, leading to reduced productivity. 

4. Communication breakdowns: Without guidelines for communication, employees may have difficulty staying in touch with colleagues and supervisors, leading to miscommunications, delays, and frustration. 

5. Legal risks: Without clear policies around data security and compliance, companies may risk violating privacy laws or exposing sensitive data to security breaches. 

6. Employee dissatisfaction: Employees may become dissatisfied with the lack of clarity and consistency around remote work arrangements, leading to decreased engagement and increased turnover. 

Not having a clear hybrid working policy can lead to a range of issues for both employees and employers. A well-defined policy can help ensure everyone is on the same page, set clear expectations, and reduce the risk of miscommunications or other more serious problems.  

Overall, a hybrid work arrangement policy is an essential document for organizations looking to embrace the future of work. By clearly outlining expectations and guidelines for hybrid work, companies can create a culture of trust and collaboration that allows for flexibility and productivity. When creating your own policy, be sure to consider your organization’s unique goals, as well as the preferences and needs of your employees. By doing so, you can create a policy that works for everyone and position your organization for success in the future.  

Now, let’s get deeper into the hybrid work arrangement policy and see what it should cover. We will dive into the list described in our previous chapter on the content of such policies. 

Let’s start! 

What should a hybrid work arrangement policy cover?

1.Who is eligible for hybrid work? 

Here are some questions companies will need to find answers to: 

• Do all employees in the company have hybrid work arrangements?  
• Are there special work arrangements for parents or people with disabilities? 
• What other criteria need to be met by someone working hybrid? 
• Are there specific teams needed to work from the office? Perhaps the office manager needs to be in the office. Maybe some managers must also be in the office. 
• Does the employee has hybrid working mention in the working arrangement, or does he/she need to make a request for hybrid working? 
• Will new hires be needed in the office for the first months of work? 
• Does the employee have good time management and organizational skills to meet deadlines and achieve results whilst working independently? 
• Did the employee prove good performance while working from the office? 
• Did the employee prove communication and team work skills that meet expectations? 

Below you can find some potential answers to the questions above.

• This policy applies to all employees who have a hybrid working arrangement, as opposed to an employee who works from home occasionally with agreement but is primarily office based.   
• It is the employee’s responsibility to make a request for hybrid working, and the manager’s responsibility to assess the request against the needs and requirements of the team and the business. 
• Current employees with at least 6 months tenure working in the following teams (e.g.: marketing, design, purchasing, customer support, etc) are eligible for a hybrid work arrangement 
• The decision whether a job function is suitable for hybrid work or not will be based on the answers to the following questions: 
• Can the job be carried out without frequent face to face consultation or direct supervision? 
• Does the job have clear goals and measurable outputs that are achievable within the contracted working hours in a hybrid work environment? 
• Does the position require in-person supervision? 
• Can the work be easily delivered electronically to clients, colleagues or managers?  
• Are the tasks self-sufficient in terms of administrative support or capable of being remotely serviced? 
• Can the work be completed without causing disruption to employee performance and deliverables? 
• Can the efficiency and productivity of the work be kept while working from home? 
• Can the team continue to meet project deadlines and achieve established goals? 
• Can both the company and employee keep their compliance with the Company’s Data Protection policy and data protection? 

2. Working schedule and hybrid work responsibilities 

Here are some questions companies will need to find answers to in their hybrid work policies.: 

• Are there flexible working hours?  
• Are there certain days when employees or certain teams must be in the office? 
• Must team leads and managers approve flexible working schedules for employees that request them?   
• Are there some country specific legal requirements about the work-from-home or remote schedule? 
• Can employees work only from home, or from some other place? There are specific country legislations that need to be addressed. 

• Employees are required to work from the office at least 3 days a week. 
• Employees can work from home maximum 10 days a month. 
• Hybrid work arrangements will have a three month trial.  
• Employees taking part in the company’s hybrid work arrangement are expected to be available during 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., for at least 8 hours. The lunch break can last between 15 and 60 minutes, on top of the 8 hours. 
• Employees will continue to be available for meetings considered necessary by the team leaders or managers. If in-person meetings are needed on a day when the employee would normally work remotely, it is expected they will attend face-to-face and work remotely another day. 
• Employees must have reliable access to internet in order to conduct their work properly. In the case of power failure or internet problems that last more than an hour, they must come to the office and perform their tasks. 
• We reserve the right to revoke remote working rights in cases of repeated problems. 
• Employees schedule should not adversely affect the ability of other colleagues and teams to perform their jobs. 
• It is the team member’s responsibility to ensure they have a suitable work area set up.  
• Employees will notify their team when they need to step away for an extended period of time during the work day and mention how that time will be recovered.  

3. The resources available to employees (monitors, laptops, headphones, etc.) 

Here are some questions companies will need to find answers to: 

• How are the office resources being managed so that hybrid workers can have equal access to them? 
• If some employees need some extra equipment at home, how can they proceed? 
• Are there any payments made by the company to cover electricity, gas, or internet bills? Some countries might have some statements related to his in their labor law. 

• We supply our employees with laptops that can be remotely connected to our server. Employees operating hybrid working must ensure that our IT policies are respected. 
• The company provides monthly stipend of {…} to fully remote team members based on the country they’re in to support some of the cost associated with the work-from-home setup. 

4. Rules for communication 

Here are some questions companies will need to find answers to: 

• How are meetings being held? 
• Which tools are going to be used for team communication, project management, meetings? 

• Meetings will happen online using Zoom, to make sure each participant has a consistent experience. The output of meetings will be shared in OneDrive.
• Each team will use Teams/Slack as means of communication. 
• The teams will use Monday/ for project management. 
• Each team is supported and encouraged to set up their own working practices for effective and inclusive communication within their own team. 
• The company encourages the use of video calls as we strongly believe this helps boost social and team interaction. 

5. The roles and responsibilities for hybrid workers and their team leads and managers 

Here are some questions companies will need to find answers to: 

• Who is going to monitor task management and delivery when it comes to hybrid employees? 
• Who is responsible of checking the working hours and patterns of any remote based employees. 
• Are there specific responsibilities for remote workers that need to be addressed? 

• Each team lead will monitor task management and also conduct 360 employee evaluations. 
• Employees working remotely are expected to work their full contractual hours; therefore, undertaking non-work related activities during their working hours are prohibited. 
• Employees must ensure that their work is not distracted by domestic concerns. 

6. How is performance being measured? 

Here are some questions companies will need to find answers to: 

• How will employees and managers deliver feedback when dealing with hybrid teams? 
• How can productivity be measured to ensure equal treatment of in-office and remote employees? 
• How to set proper set up goals?

• If the company or the employee feel that the arrangement is not working satisfactorily, a return to earlier working arrangements can happen. 
• The teams will use the planned to done work metric, in order to assess individual employee performance, critical to hybrid work productivity. 

7. Safety and security rules 

Here are some questions companies will need to find answers to: 

• Do employees need any other equipment to ensure their safety and IT security while working remotely or from home?  

• A risk assessment will be undertaken to ensure the employees working remotely follow the current health and safety legislation and requirements. This will include fire safety, first aid provision, ergonomic considerations, adequate space, safety considerations, insurance, etc. 
• All employees whose working arrangements include working from home will have to install a smoke alarm and one fire extinguisher. 
• Remote employees will be provided with a first aid kit. 
• It is the employee’s responsibility to ensure a safe and healthy work environment.  
• No other persons present in the employee’s office, should be allowed to access the laptop or computer used for the work, or any printed documents. 

8. The tools and tech stack used to manage hybrid desks 

If the company has reduced office space, because the office is no longer accommodating all its employees daily, then, it might use a hot desking system to manage hybrid employees. 

The company should inform all employees about the chosen tool for that. Will you manage hot desks in a spreadsheet or an app? 

Now, with the Tidaro hot desking app companies can ditch spreadsheets and allow employees to book a desk with ease. Onboarding and full setup will be provided by the Tidaro team. 

Hybrid work policy template

Hybrid Work Arrangements Policy for [Company Name]

Date:

Overview and purpose: This document outlines the foundational hybrid work policy that [Company Name] uses to support our workforce. This policy applies to all employees of [Company Name] who are eligible for hybrid work or remote work arrangements. At [Company Name], our flexible work policy empowers employees to remain productive and engaged in any situation. For over a decade, promoting a flexible work environment has been a cornerstone of our workplace culture. The program enables employees to choose the work style that best supports their professional and personal needs in a dynamic, collaborative, and mobile work environment. More than just a policy, the arrangement is focusing on outcomes rather than being bound to a single place or set hours. Our goal for [Year]: to enable [X%] of our workforce to work flexibly. This objective encouraged employees to create their ideal work arrangements, including options like remote work and flexible scheduling. To support this initiative, [Company Name] invested in robust technology infrastructure and employee training.

Definitions: Remote employees: Employees who work exclusively from home 5 days a week. Hybrid employees: Employees who work from home between 1 and 4 days a week.

Policy expectations: Employees of [Company name] are expected to maintain normal productivity and performance standards. They are required to focus solely on work for [Company Name] during working hours or established flexible schedule, and should not engage in non-work-related activities during their working hours. When working from home, employees should not perform household duties, providing care for children or dependents, or attending to personal business. For any time away from work due to childcare, personal matters, illness, or similar reasons, team members should utilize their own paid time off.

Hybrid work or remote work eligibility: Employees may be eligible for hybrid work arrangements based on the following criteria: – Completion of at least six months of continuous employment. – Demonstrated ability to work independently and meet deadlines. – Roles that do not require constant in-person supervision or face-to-face interactions. – Availability of necessary technology and a suitable remote work environment. – Finished their onboarding processes upon hiring. – New hires Employees may be eligible for remote work arrangements based on the following criteria: – The hired employee works more than 100km away from the nearest [Company name] office, and the employee was hired specifically for remote work. – If an employee wants to move and work more than 100km away from the nearest [Company name] office, this issue needs to be agreed with the team, team leader, and other managers. Roles that are not eligible for hybrid and remote work – see the appendix.

Work arrangement options: Full-time in-office: Eligible employees: Roles requiring constant in-person collaboration or access to on-site resources. Transportation Benefits: [Insert details about parking, public transportation subsidies, etc.] Hybrid in-office/Remote work: Eligible employees: Roles suitable for both remote and in-office work. Scheduling: Employees are expected to work from the office [e.g., two days per week], with flexibility based on team needs. Work location: HR needs to be provided with the employee’s primary work location. Stipends: [Company name] provides a one-time and recurring stipend to hybrid employees to help support some of the cost associated with the setup and ongoing work-from-home arrangement. See values in the appendix. Transportation benefits: [Insert details about parking, public transportation subsidies, etc.] Full-time remote: Eligible employees: See appendix. Offline gatherings: Remote employees will have regular quarterly check-ins. The offline space for this will be agreed with the manager. Stipends: [Company name] provides a one-time and recurring stipend to remote employees based on the country and where legally applicable to help support some of the cost associated with the setup and ongoing work-from-home arrangement. See values in the appendix.

Scheduling: Eligible employees: all, no matter the work arrangement Earliest starting time: 7 A.M. Latest ending time: 8 P.M. Core business hours: Tuesday to Thursday 10 A.M – 3 P.M. This is when all schedules should overlap, so that meetings can happen. No meetings day: Friday Total weekly working hours: 40. Lunch time: maximum 1 hour. Lunch time is not included in the working hours. Working during weekends: not allowed. Overtime is not paid.

Procedures: Employees must submit a formal request for hybrid or remote work arrangements to their managers. Managers will assess requests based on role suitability, team dynamics, and business needs. Approved arrangements will be documented, and any changes must be communicated promptly. If employees want to work remote, and not from their home, but from the same country, they can do so for 20 days a year. Formal requests need to be submitted.

Communication [Channel] is the main communication channel. It has subchannel for teams, projects, and general company announcements. During working hours, there is no expectation that you should reply to incoming messages asap. We understand focused work can be disrupted by notifications and messages. When a matter is urgent, use tagging and mention “URGENT”. When you’re not working, make sure you disconnect by turning off [Channel]. There is no expectation to respond to messages outside of your planned working hours. When someone asks something, give back a deadline or that you did it. A simple “OK” is not enough. Meetings at [Company name] should have notes (for a single source of truth) as well as conclusions and next steps. Team members should still feel empowered to contribute by helping with notes as needed, even if there is someone assigned. Presenting during meetings are not advised. Instead, recorded presentations make content accessible, and, if needed, schedule a QA session, but make sure people watch the presentation in advance. Indicate your availability by updating your own calendar using the calendar’s “out of office” feature and include the dates you plan to be away in your automated response. Processes across teams should be clearly described in our knowledge base. Screenshots and videos should accompany the explanation. Non-work communication is encouraged. We encourage group video calls for bonding. Before jumping into a meeting always ask yourself: could you replace the meeting with and email, or a short recording? In [Company name] we use [Tool Name] for task management. Tasks will be tracked here. Tasks will be classified by urgency and deadlines. The tasks descriptions should be clear, with all needed documents attached. The outcome of the task should be clear in the comments. All outcome documents should be attached as well. Each task will have at least one reviewer.

Health and safety [Company Name] and the employees working remotely share responsibility under applicable state health & safety legislation to ensure that the workspace, such as the team member’s home, and any equipment used meet the required health and safety standards. Team members should consult their country-specific addendums for detailed health and safety requirements in their region (if applicable). While working remotely, team members are subject to the same accident, sickness, and absence reporting procedures as if they were working at the [Company Name] offices. Any employment-related accidents or injuries must be reported immediately to the team member’s supervisor. Additionally, team members should follow the [Company Name] Environmental Health & Safety procedures to report work-related injuries and incidents.

Technology and equipment: [Company Name] will provide necessary equipment and support to ensure employees can work effectively from their chosen locations. This includes [e.g., laptops, VPN access, collaboration tools]. No third parties present in the home office, including family members, should be permitted access the employee’s as well as any [Company Name] or customer documents. Employees working from home must ensure no one is granted access to any [Company name] customer information. When storing papers, employees that work from home, need to use a lockable desk drawer.

Security and compliance: Employees must adhere to all company policies regarding data security and confidentiality, regardless of work location.

Roles and responsibilities All team members are responsible for understanding and adhering to this policy. Leaders are responsible for enforcing this policy within their workgroups. It is the leader’s responsibility to align the allowances stipulated in the program to the policy, ensure funding/spend is controlled within respective business budgets, and ensure ongoing compliance within the guidelines of the policy

Review and Adjustments: Work arrangements will be reviewed on a quarterly basis to ensure they continue to meet both employee and organizational needs. Adjustments may be made based on performance, changes in role responsibilities, or shifts in business priorities.

Contact: For questions or further information, please contact the HR department at [Insert Contact Information].

As we are concluding with our chapter on hybrid work policies, we want to leave you two examples of policies from real companies: Dell and GitLab. 

Good luck with designing your own policy! 

And don’t forget: these policies are subject to change. They will need to adjusted and refined based on internal feedback. 

How to design a hybrid work policy? – Summary