As return to office (RTO) mandates bite––big companies including Amazon, Salesforce, Disney, and JPMorgan have issued (RTO) mandates to staff––hybrid seems to be the way forward, particularly for knowledge workers.

“Hybrid is no longer just an employee perk but an employee expectation,” says Ranjit Atwal, senior director analyst at Gartner.

“Many employees started to partially return to the office in 2022, but the hybrid workstyle will remain prominent in 2023 and beyond. To adapt, employers have been implementing a human-centric work design – including flexibility, intentional collaboration and empathy-based management – which suits hybrid employees.”

Hybrid is a godsend for many workers, offering a blend of at-home work and in-office days where meetings and collaborative work can happen.

But it doesn’t work so well for everyone. A recent study from the UK’s University of Nottingham found that younger people and low-income workers are at risk of being left behind by hybrid working.

Its research found that younger workers are less engaged and report lower levels of wellbeing in a hybrid set-up, and low income employees are more likely to be excluded from splitting their time between home and the office.

Knowledge spillovers

Other issues that affect hybrid and remote workers are that of reduced visibility and a lack of knowledge spillover.

Many managers have an unconscious bias towards those who work mostly from home. It is an out of sight, out of mind attitude that leads bosses and business owners to believe that those who work on site are more productive than remote workers.

But for younger workers in particular, remote and hybrid work leaves them at risk of missing out on ad hoc conversations that can lead to insights and innovation, and face time with senior colleagues. Nor does it encourage mentoring and support which early stage career workers really need.

So is the office the best place for innovation and creativity?

A 2022 report from the National Bureau of Economic Research says yes. The study’s authors chose Silicon Valley as the basis for their research and set out to show the value of how in-person meetings lead to knowledge spillovers.

The report says that these random conversations––aka watercooler moments––involving people in similar industries can have a real impact on innovative breakthroughs.

Communicate

So what can early-stage workers do? Asking for regular one-to-one meetings with your manager to keep on top of your performance and ask for help, keeping cameras on during virtual calls, and speaking up in meetings can all help to boost your visibility.

If your office days are flexible, coordinate with your team and manager to find the best days for you to all be in together. This way, you can prioritise strategy and creativity, when you are all face-to-face.

Plus, being in the office when key employees are also present gives you the opportunity to get some face-time, allow your bosses to understand you and how you work, and ultimately impress them.

However, if you feel like your manager isn’t responsive towards your best efforts to be more visible, check out the Maddyness Job Board for a new role, or discover three great companies that are actively hiring below.

Principal Engineering Product Owner, Vanquis Bank, London

This Principal Engineering Product Owner role will report into the engineering product lead, and will be responsible for leading a team of Engineering Product Owners across three delivery centres (London, Chatham, Bradford). You will also be responsible for achieving customer value through improved features and capabilities delivered by the SCRUM delivery teams you are aligned to. Get all the details here.

Data Ops Manager, Legal & General, London

As a Data Ops Manager you’ll manage, mentor and coach the other data ops engineers and third-party resources, taking responsibility for the monitoring of the data platform and Azure SQL databases and the maintenance of processes and services that run on the data platform. You’ll also proactively and reactively ensure that the data platform and databases sitting in the Azure environment are functioning, and able to meet the needs of all data platform customers. Find out more here.

Security Architect, Automated Analytics for Hiscox, York

Hiscox is seeking an Information Security Architect with an all-round understanding of enterprise architecture. This is a technically focussed role covering delivery of core technology areas such as software development, data, networking, infrastructure, and cloud platforms. A strong security background is essential, and experience in financial services is a nice-to-have. Get all the details here.

For more opportunities in cybersecurity, visit the Maddyness Job Board today