The COVID-19 pandemic allowed some Americans, who were fortunate enough to remain in the workforce, to adapt to the idea of working from home.

With the reopening of many businesses slowly becoming a reality, the job force should look at allowing its employees to balance their work between physically being in an office and working at home.

Countries are either executing or planning their respective versions of reopening. However, the world’s version of a returning to a “new normal” must pass a criterion of assessing what is safe and not safe as COVID-19 variants remain among the world’s population.

A survey from the Adecco Group found that hybrid working in a post-pandemic world is a popular idea among people, garnishing support from the 74% of employees who like the idea of mix office-home based work life.

While some people are returning to the workforce, there are people who are entering it for the first time, thus attempting to take on a work style that is not practiced by many.

There are a few reasons as to why working remotely is a suitable solution for the recovering workforce.

An advantage to hybrid working is that remote working provides a better work life balance for people.

Some remote jobs come with flexible schedules, allowing some people to begin and end their workday as they see fit. Some jobs are acknowledging the idea of working from home. Tech giants like Twitter made announcements that working from home would be an option for its employees. Other tech giants like Google are simply pushing back the return to their offices to September 2021.

Remote work is also financially beneficial to the worker. Working from home saves a person over $4,000 due to not needing to commute to a physical location.

Prior to the pandemic, the average American spent more than $5,000 per year on their daily commutes. The amount a person spends money on a commute to work could depend on what state a person resides in.

Hybrid working also provides a much larger pool of talent for the workforce.

The internet provides easy access to talented people that have yet to be given an opportunity in the workforce. With industries taking on the remote working life, they can employ people from outside the local area that could possess the talent for specific roles — talent that can sometimes
be a rare find in a particular area.

The opposition for remote working is understandable, as public opinion would point out that certain job industries require a physical appearance. Jobs in industries such as beauty or fashion may not be able to adapt a remote work environment due to a need of being in a close physical
location.

Supporting the idea of hybrid work does not mean that working in an office environment is simply outdated. Improvement in teamwork and communications serve as a benefit to working in an office setting.

A blog post by Compassoffices, a business aimed at providing office space for other businesses, wrote that a negative aspect to hybrid work is employees displaying feelings of being left out.

“A disadvantage of the hybrid work policy is that remote employees may feel left out in terms of company culture. In an office setting, employees can easily interact with one another at any time,” according to the post. “This is beneficial to build strong group dynamics and ensure there is good rapport amongst employees.”

The idea of more access to hybrid classes for college students is also on the table as well.

A similar benefit to hybrid work environment is the idea of flexibility for students. It serves as the best of both worlds for students, allowing one day of in-person learning and completing any additional coursework online.

The arrival of the COVID-19 vaccines signals hope toward the pandemic’s end.

Adapting to a hybrid work life may prove to be the safest way to navigate the climatic stage of the pandemic. It is a working method that can keep people safe while staying on track to complete any professional commitments.