Office vs Remote vs Hybrid: Which is Right for You?

Published on 5 July 2021

It’s been over a year since the UK migrated to home working. Since then, the realities of remote working have grown. With all these discussions of Remote Working, Office Working and Hybrid Working it’s difficult to figure out what is best for your business. Luckily, we have gathered the pros and cons for you to evaluate and make the choice that suits your business needs.

The Pros And Cons Of Remote Working

As opposed to Working From Home, Remote Working allows your employees to work anywhere that suits them, like a coffee shop.

Pros

• Flexible Hours:
  • Allow employees to work around their schedule. Meeting other responsibilities within traditional working hours easily, like picking up children from school.
• Reducing Commuting Time:
  • Give your employees a better work-life balance, gaining back those lost commuting hours.
  • Reduced stress from traveling and delays.
  • Better for the environment.
• Increase Productivity:
  • Not everyone works best in the hustle and bustle of a busy office. You may notice some employee productivity goes up when working from home.

Cons

• Collaboration:
  • It could be harder to collaborate with other employees. Especially when it comes to brainstorming.
• Isolating:
  • It can be quite isolating for some workers, which can affect their mental health and productivity.
• Difficult to disconnect:
  • Working and living in the same space can make it harder to disconnect form work. Especially if there is no dedicated workspace.
• Internet Connection:
  • An unstable or poor internet connection can pose many problems for workers that could affect workflow.

The Pros And Cons Of Office Working

Before the pandemic this was the most common way of working.

Pros

• Collaboration:
  • Very easy to collaborate and communicate with other workers.
• Structured Hours:
  • More structured hours will suit some workers and help them have a better work-life balance.
• Separate from home:
  • By having your employees work life and personal life separate will help them switch off after work.

Cons

• Commuting:
  • Depending on where they live, your workers could be facing a long commute. Losing valuable personal time.
  • Employees spending excess money on travel.
  • Not environmentally friendly.
• Socialising:
  • Workers could spend too much time socialising with other employees rather than focusing on their work.
  • Depending on your office layout it may be hard to practice social distancing.
• Cost:
  • Depending on your area, you could be paying high rent fees for your office space.

The Pros And Cons Of Hybrid Working

Hybrid is a mix of both. Workers will work part of their week remotely and the rest in the office.

Pros

• Flexibility:
  • This allows both you and your employees to discuss an arrangement that meets everyone’s needs.
• Collaboration:
  • Better collaboration than working completely remotely.
• Isolation:
  • Prevent remote workers from feeling isolated by getting them into the office.
• Social Distancing:
  • Avoid spreading illness by allowing minorly sick employees to work from home.

Cons

• Office Space:
  • You will need to think how you will manage your office space. Will employees have rotating desks, or will they have their own?
  • Remember to consider that some employees will need access to equipment they won’t have at home.
• Employees:
  • Some workers may not want to work remotely or vice versa.

The pandemic has changed the working environment, giving achievable flexibility to employers and employees. In the past many of us where hesitant about working from home. Yet having been forced to accommodate remote working has shown that remote working is a viable option for most businesses.

Bluebell IT Solutions specialise in bespoke IT, including Remote, Office or Hybrid working. You will get an IT plan specially suited to your business’s office needs. Whether it’s to make communications easier for your fully remote team or make files easily shareable to accommodate both office and remote workers. We can meet the IT needs of both your remote and office workers easily and quickly, having adopted this model ourselves. To learn more about cloud computing with Bluebell. Or contact us today to get more details about our bespoke services.