One thing is clear, both working from home and working in person offer advantages and disadvantages.
Employers are increasingly being forced to offer their employees flexible working models. While for some it is no longer an option to work in a company that does not offer the possibility of working from home, for others it is unthinkable not to make the daily journey to the office.
This article is intended to shed light on the advantages and disadvantages of working from home and serve as an incentive to rethink previous ways and work structures. We will explain which solution we have opted for at Nerd Republic and present new models.
Working from home, hybrid or in the office?
All Nerd Republic employees work exclusively remotely. It was never an option for us to change this. We come from a wide variety of backgrounds, have different skills and live in different cities. New ways of working also mean new working conditions. For example, Annabell works from Bali, Maxi joins us from Australia, Stefan is based in Düsseldorf and Sarah in Berlin.
For jobs where physical presence on site is not absolutely necessary, refusing to work from home in principle is a waste of potential. What a shame it is, both for employers and employees, when a job offer fits like a glove, but the company’s location is on the other side of Germany (or even the world) and moving there is out of the question?
Digitalisation and the many opportunities it brings are often praised. The optimisation of processes and, above all, the ability to adapt quickly are the most frequently cited advantages. But when the demand for more flexibility in the workplace and therefore for companies to adapt to their employees arises, the answer is unfortunately often still no.
Why is it like that?
Is it due to a lack of trust in the employees? Is it a lack of controls, as it is no longer possible to directly check whether person X is actually sitting at the desk? Or is it a lack of technical expertise?
The latter in particular should no longer be the case after two years of the pandemic.
The majority of professions today require nothing more than a laptop and a stable internet connection. If this basis is in place, employees can do their work just as well from another location that is not the office.
The majority of professions today require nothing more than a laptop and a stable internet connection. If this basis is given, employees can do their work just as well from another location that is not the office.
However, it must be emphasised that remote work can also be demotivating. Isolation and loneliness from constantly working from home can be a problem, and team morale can also be weakened if everyone works only for themselves in front of a laptop. With small children in the house, who of course also need their attention, it can be difficult to maintain concentration over a longer period of time.
So if both extremes – working exclusively from home or having to commute to the office every day – are not ideal, the best solution seems to be a hybrid model. In this model, employees divide their time between working from home and working in the office. It allows employees to get the best of both worlds – the flexibility of working from home and the social interaction of working in the office.
However, this model also poses some challenges. For one, it can be challenging to find the right balance between working from home and working in the office. And if you have employees living in different parts of the country, it’s more difficult to coordinate everyone’s schedules.
How can teamwork be strengthened despite working from home?
We at the Nerd Republic also believe that team building is essential for good collaboration. And despite the numerous remote formats in which you can meet virtually these days, there’s no substitute for a meal together in a restaurant or a beer at the bar. So we have found a solution for us: we meet together in person approximately every three to four months. We combine this with our quarterly Iteration Planning.
It’s a good contrast to see each other live and in colour and not only helps us progress in our work, but also strengthens our team spirit incredibly.
And the moral of the story?
There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Every company and, above all, its employees are different. The aim of this article was much more to draw attention to the fact that it doesn’t just have to be ‘home office yes or no’. Hybrid models can take many different shapes and forms. For example, one option could be to meet in person once a week, once a month, once a quarter or once a year.
There is no right or wrong, it is more about questioning, rethinking and, if possible, changing existing structures. We are happy to support you with our experience in developing new concepts.