As we continue to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies are grappling with the decision to have employees return to the office or stay virtual. Companies are finding out that 1) their offices aren’t as important as they once were, 2) employees are pushing back at returning to the office, 3) a full-time work from home environment has had both positive and negative impacts on productivity, and 4) there is a cost savings that may come with downsizing the office.
Given these points, businesses across many industries are choosing to implement a hybrid work environment moving forward. While a hybrid work environment may be a good solution, it is not without its challenges.
What Are Hybrid Work Environments?
The U.S. is seeing a marked increase in people quitting their jobs. A record four million people quit their jobs in April 2021, according to the Department of Labor. Even if employees do not outright quit, a Robert Half survey found that around one-third of workers who are currently working fully-remote would start to look for a new job if their employers required them to return to in-office work.
Despite that, we also know that working remotely all of the time can lead to other challenges. It can lead to employee disengagement, employee burnout, an erosion of company culture and a lack of team connectivity.
One solution lies in a hybrid work model. In a survey conducted by Morning consult, 68% of U.S. employees would prefer a permanent hybrid workplace model after the pandemic ends. This hybrid environment would look different depending on the businesses and job roles, but it essentially means that employees would work remotely part of the week, and work in the office the rest of the week. This could look like:
- Remote-work being the primary location, with occasional meetings in-person.
- Different teams working from the office on certain days, and from home the remainder of the week.
- Different teams working from the office for part of the month, then at home for the rest of the month.
- Working every other day in the office and at home.
- Providing a flexible environment in which every individual chooses when to work from home and when to work from the office.
Hybrid work environments have become wildly popular. Larger companies like Facebook, Twitter, Siemens, J.P.Morgan Chase, BP, and many others have taken the lead in making this work model permanent.
Why Not Work Full-Time Remote?
While working remotely has many benefits that employees enjoy (no commute, relaxed dress, and an easier time focusing), it is not a perfect solution. One survey found that 28% of workers felt that remote work damaged their relationships with coworkers. The same survey found that although some people are more productive at home, 26% felt that they were less productive in a remote work environment. Some industries find that face-time with employees and supervisors is important for obtaining assignments. Additionally, some DE&I experts are worried that minority employees will fall through the cracks in a fully-remote workplace.
Many people have found through the pandemic that working from home makes some tasks easier and other more collaborative tasks more difficult. All of this contributes to the fact that a hybrid work environment, which provides for both in-office and at-home work, will be much more popular in the not-too-distant future.
Legal Challenges For Hybrid Work Environments
While a hybrid work environment has many benefits, it also comes with potential legal issues that businesses need to be aware of before making the switch. Three main areas that employers should pay attention to are discrimination, accommodation, and documentation issues.
Discrimination
There are two main ways that businesses need to be mindful of discrimination claims in a hybrid work environments. The first is ensuring that a hybrid schedule for employees does not appear to discriminate against an employee’s race, age, sex, or any other protected reason. Management should work on scheduling details with human resources to ensure that it is effective for their department’s specific needs and to ensure that there are no discriminatory reasons for the scheduling that occurs. Management should also keep lines of communication open with employees as the schedules are made. Another issue to be mindful of is discrimination claims arising from an increase in informal communications between employees texting or using messaging services. Setting and enforcing communication guidelines and expectations will be necessary for hybrid or fully remote teams.
Workplace accommodation
If an employee is working from home or at the office, an employer will still be required to provide the tools they need to get their work done. This means that employers should provide the office equipment needed to work from home. This also requires employers to maintain safety standards which can be complicated in home environments. Further, an employer can receive a request to work in a hybrid manner as an accommodation. The employer must follow the guidelines of the ADA to be compliant with the law. The requirements of the ADA do not change, even if a company decides to go fully hybrid.
Employment documents, offer letters and/or contracts
Many offer letters, employment contracts, and employment documents specify the work environment or office location from which an employee will work. When transitioning to a hybrid work environment, these documents should be updated to reflect the new work model. Likewise, employee handbooks should be updated to reflect the guidelines for hybrid and/or remote work and ensure that they set the appropriate expectations and rules for privacy, confidentiality, and data protection. Finally, each business will find that it has its own unique challenges as it relates to remote and/or hybrid work. Right now is a good time to reflect on the past year and determine the areas of weakness and/or opportunities that should be addressed. Addressing issues in your policies now is a smart way to get ahead of any new challenges that a permanent hybrid work environment may bring.
Transcendent Law Group combines the best legal minds, the best business practices with the best technology to obtain the best results. Contact us today to learn more about how we help businesses across the gulf south!