The Most Important Shift Hybrid Workforces Need to Thrive Is the One Most Are Ignoring Successful hybrid work is not just about being in the office half the week.

By the end of this year, 39% of all global knowledge workers will be hybrid workers.

That's a forecast from Gartner, and it's more than just a statistic; it's a harbinger of a seismic shift in our work culture.

Podcast with Dr. Tsipursky: Making "Hybrid Work" Actually Work

Some business leaders may mistake this trend as a partial return to "the way it was." But that is shortsighted. The hybrid model isn't just "old office life" for half the week, and it also isn't a free-form, work-from-home life for half the week. To embrace the hybrid work model means reimagining the very fabric of our work environment. The pandemic taught us that work is not a place you go; it's something you do — so the office must now serve as a hub for collaboration and innovation, not a factory for rote tasks.

I'm a business consultant who has helped over two dozen companies adopt hybrid work models, and I get plenty of pushback from managers who are used to "management by walking around." But in the hybrid world, leadership will require a more nuanced understanding of remote team dynamics, and a focus on results rather than hours spent at a desk.

If you're still not totally sold on the hybrid model, here are some points to consider.

Stanford economist Nick Bloom did a meta-analysis of work-from-home studies, and found that an organized, flexible hybrid model is 1% to 3% more productive than a fully in-person model — and that's before doing any leadership development to improve how hybrid teams function.

Why? It provides employees with the flexibility to determine how tasks can be completed most efficiently. In a hybrid setting, employees should only commute to the office for activities that are most productively completed there, such as intense synchronous collaboration and nuanced conversations. Meanwhile, tasks that consume 70% to 90% of a typical workday — like focused work and asynchronous communication — are done more effectively at home. The employee can skip out on commuting and the social obligations of office life while optimizing productivity.

Related: You Should Let Your Team Decide Their Approach to Hybrid Work. A Behavioral Economist Explains Why and How You Should Do It.

But even as offices may not be conducive to heads-down tasks, they are invaluable to employee morale. The Stanford study finds that the happiness derived from a hybrid work model is equivalent to an 8% pay raise. Sit with that; it's a revelation. It underscores the profound importance of work-life balance — the autonomy and flexibility of remote work, as well as the community of an office in which to meet. The employee well-being that comes with work-life balance offers employers a major retention boost.

If you want to get started on building your hybrid model, here are three steps I recommend to make it work for your team.

1. Conduct a work audit.

Identify which tasks require physical presence and which don't. Survey your staff and get their input and buy-in in this process. Don't just rely on managers. Use this data to design your hybrid model.

2. Invest in technology.

Ensure that your tech stack supports seamless transition between remote and in-office work.

3. Train your managers.

The skills required to manage a hybrid team are different from those needed for an in-office team. Invest in training programs that equip your managers for this new reality.

Related: Hybrid Work Could Affect Your Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Goals. Here's How to Prepare for That.

The future of hybrid work is not a diluted version of the past; it's a bold new frontier. It offers a unique opportunity to redefine our work culture to make it more flexible, more humane, and more productive. But seizing this opportunity requires more than just logistical adjustments. It demands a paradigm shift in our attitudes toward work, leadership, and collaboration.

As you stand on the cusp of this transformation, ask yourself: Are you merely adapting to change, or are you embracing all it has to offer?