Hybrid work models: debating policy and fairness

B2
90 min
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1

Think about these questions before watching. Share your ideas with a partner.

  1. If you were to design the perfect work week for yourself, what would be the ideal split between remote and in-office days, and what factors would influence your decision?
  2. To what extent should companies accommodate individual employee preferences for remote work versus mandating a uniform policy for everyone?
  3. Beyond the obvious benefits of flexibility, what potential social or professional drawbacks might arise in a workplace where employees have complete autonomy over their work location?
2

Watch the video carefully. Pay attention to the main ideas and key details.

Video script176 segments · click a timestamp to jump

one thing we know by this point is the

future of working from home is hybrid

which means sometimes spent in the

office and sometimes spent at home the

most controversial question about hybrid

is how much choice you should give

individual employees about how many days

they work from home and the big change

for me has been if i look back i thought

what would be great is to let every

employee choose what they want to do so

like a menu if you run things forward to

july august 2021 i've spoken to hundreds

of organizations and come to the

conclusion that full choice isn't a good

thing

the first reason for being concerned

about people choosing which days is

mixed mode mixed mode is this horror

whereby

there's six of you in a meeting three

are at home in individual zoom boxes and

the other three in the office and one

similar size zoom box with their tiny

heads you can see they're talking

something happens to some controversial

statements

there's whispering there's people

smiling it's just i've heard over and

over again from companies mixed mode is

horrible however you set it up even if

you make everyone in the office

connecting on their own laptops go to

cubicles fields even you know after the

end of any controversial meeting you at

home close your laptop the three folks

are working and close their laptops

stand out of their cubicles and carry on

the discussion go grab a coffee talk

about it over lunch so mixed mode almost

always seems to lead to in-groups now

groups

the second reason for being concerned

about people choosing their days or the

issues around diversity if you look at

who wants to come in on which days it's

not random so we've surveyed 50 000

working age americans in the data we see

that college-educated women with young

kids disabled people want to work from

home more people living far from the

office

low-income people that can't afford

transport put simply this various

subsets of people are going to end up

choosing if you give them the choice to

work from home let's say 4-5 days a week

so in many ways that makes total sense

and we want that flexibility the tricky

thing is if they're doing that and other

groups let's say single young men living

next door going to come in five days a

week you can see this is going to lead

to a huge diversity crisis because when

you have teams whereby some folks are

working from home four or five days a

week other folks are coming in full time

there's a big disparity in promotion in

one study folks working from home had

half the rate of promotion of those

being in the office so if you let people

choose in the short run they're

potentially really happy they work from

home four five days a week in the long

run a lot of people may not realize that

that's going to lead them to get left

behind and the promotion they get

frustrated it's a huge issue for

managers for diversity and of course

it's you know a legal risk for firms in

the long run

so the two choices really are the

team-based approach whereby each team

decides within the team evan has the

same days

and then there's the company decides

apple for example recently announced

everyone's going to come in monday

tuesday thursday work from home

wednesday friday team by team has the

upside of choice you can tell each team

manager you get to choose which days you

come in europe for your team it gives

employees a sense of you know input and

control but there are a couple of

problems with this

the most immediate problem i think is

use of space we surveyed 50 000 people

and asked them which days they'd like to

work from home you'll not be surprised

to know that it's basically monday

friday so everyone says they want to

work from home monday friday well it's a

problem if you're a firm and you're

trying to either save an office space or

you're trying to reduce density because

people don't want to be crushed in

elevators and you know lobbies so either

way if you have you know the office

empty on monday for us that doesn't make

sense so that's

one problem with letting people choose

team by team

second problem with letting teams decide

versus letting the center the side is

what's called the great unraveling so

it's pretty easy to see some teams could

say look we're all gonna work in the

office three days a week except the co

decides to come in for that extra fourth

day

then the folks reporting to the ceo

comes in and then the folks report the

folks reporting to the ceo come in and

the whole thing unravels so it's

actually critically important not just

to say you're allowed to work from home

three days a week is actually you have

to work from home three days a week

otherwise you have some risk of

backsliding

the interesting thing is when i put the

piece out and i got a ton of angry

emails and the one hand yes for some

people they're quite upset about it they

want to choose which days on the other

hand it feels a bit like trying to take

the longer run view on things and it's

important to note for employees that

look hybrid is great but we do need to

make a success of it so if instead we

say let's have this free for everyone

chooses which days the thing is frankly

a disaster people are coming in there's

mixed mode problems and in groups and

out groups and you know diversity crisis

and the office is crushed on wednesday

most employers are going to say look you

just can't run a business like this you

guys are going to come in five days a

week and we're just going to abolish

hybrid it doesn't work

i feel right now is to do the exact

reverse of that old silicon valley

saying and go fast and break things we

are in a completely revolutionary world

with this hybrid working is completely

new to as a result i do something boring

vanilla i think hybrid when we come in

three days a week where it works well

and people are generally happy that's

kind of low risk and importantly you

make sure folks that

are working from home on wednesday and

friday really do that and there is no

backsliding so it feels painful to do it

but some ways i'm like bank the gains

that we have make that work

maybe build off that rather than try and

go for you know something that seems the

first best but in all reality isn't

going to work but keep your ears open

and your mind free and collect data

continue to talk to customers employees

and see what works

you

3

Answer these questions in your own words. Support your answers with evidence from the video.

01According to the speaker, what are the primary drawbacks of 'mixed mode' meetings, and how do they contribute to the formation of in-groups and out-groups?
Sample answerThe main issue is that it creates an uneven playing field. People in the office can communicate non-verbally, which excludes remote attendees. The speaker also points out that the conversation often continues informally after the call ends, solidifying an 'in-group' of office-based staff who are more in the loop.
02In what way could granting employees full autonomy over their work-from-home schedules potentially lead to a 'diversity crisis'?
Sample answerThe speaker argues that specific demographics, such as working mothers or people with disabilities, are more inclined to choose remote work. If they're consistently absent from the office while others are present, they risk being overlooked for promotions, as one study showed their promotion rate was half that of their in-office colleagues. This could create a huge setback for diversity.
03The video outlines two significant problems with a team-by-team approach to scheduling. What are these challenges, and what underlying human behaviors do they expose?
Sample answerThe first is logistical: most teams would choose to work from home on Mondays and Fridays, leading to inefficient office use with mid-week overcrowding. The second is cultural, what he calls the 'great unraveling,' where senior staff coming in on remote days creates pressure for others to do the same, undermining the policy. It reveals a collective preference for long weekends and a tendency to follow leadership cues.
04Why does the speaker advocate for a less flexible, 'boring vanilla' hybrid model, and what potential long-term disaster does he believe this more rigid approach helps to avert?
Sample answerHe believes a 'free for all' approach is destined to fail due to the many problems it creates. He fears this failure would cause companies to abandon the hybrid model entirely and recall everyone to the office five days a week. Therefore, he sees a more structured approach as a way to 'bank the gains' and ensure the survival of hybrid work in the long run.
4

Vocabulary

Vocabulary
These expressions will help you communicate more naturally about this topic.
Examples
A one-size-fits-all approach — a standard solution or policy that is applied to everyone without considering individual needs or circumstances.
Usage note: This phrase is often used critically to argue for more tailored or flexible policies. For example: 'A one-size-fits-all approach to hybrid work rarely succeeds.'
Proximity bias — the unconscious tendency to give preferential treatment to employees who are physically present in the office over those who work remotely.
Usage note: Use this term to discuss the potential for unfairness in hybrid models, especially regarding promotions and opportunities. It's a key challenge for managers to overcome.
To be left out of the loop — to not be included in group communication or kept informed about important decisions and activities.
Usage note: This common idiom perfectly describes the risk for remote workers in a 'mixed mode' setting, as mentioned in the video. For example: 'If decisions are made informally after the meeting, remote team members are often left out of the loop.'
To strike a balance — to find a satisfactory compromise between two opposing forces or ideas.
Usage note: A very versatile phrase. In this context, companies must 'strike a balance between' employee autonomy and organizational needs.
To foster a sense of belonging — to actively create an environment where all individuals feel accepted, valued, and included as part of a group.
Usage note: This phrase is common in discussions about company culture and diversity. It addresses the 'in-group/out-group' problem by focusing on a positive, inclusive goal.
5

Decide if each statement is true or false. Correct the false ones.

01The speaker's perspective on employee autonomy in hybrid work shifted significantly after consulting with a large number of organizations.
02According to the speaker, the most popular days for employees to work from the office are Monday and Friday.
03A study cited in the video suggests that remote workers experience promotion rates that are 50% lower than their in-office counterparts.
04The speaker concludes by advising companies to adopt a cautious, data-driven approach to hybrid work, in direct opposition to the 'go fast and break things' philosophy.
05To prevent 'backsliding', the speaker argues that companies should merely permit, but not mandate, that employees work from home on designated days.
6

Complete the sentences with words from the box. One word is extra.

Word bank
01To ensure fairness in promotions, managers must actively combat by evaluating performance based on results, not physical presence.
02Remote employees often worry they will be on crucial decisions made during informal chats in the office.
03The new hybrid policy aims to between offering employees flexibility and maintaining a cohesive company culture.
04Companies are implementing new virtual team-building activities to among remote and in-office staff alike.
05Given the diverse needs of our global team, a to our work-from-home policy is simply not feasible.
7

Choose the best answer based on what you heard in the video.

01According to the speaker, why is it 'critically important' to mandate specific work-from-home days rather than simply allowing them?
02The speaker cites survey data indicating that several groups are more likely to choose to work from home. Which of the following groups does he specifically mention?
03The speaker warns that a 'free for all' hybrid model could be a disaster. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a potential negative consequence?
04What is the speaker's core recommendation for companies navigating the implementation of hybrid work?
8

Hybrid Work Challenges

Understand key concepts and challenges related to hybrid work models.

Match each item on the left with the correct item on the right.

A
B
9

Discuss these questions with a partner. Try to use vocabulary from the lesson.

  1. The video argues that full employee choice can lead to some people being left out of the loop. To what extent should a company mandate specific in-office days to prevent this, and how can it strike a balance between flexibility and equitable team dynamics?
  2. Considering the cultural and societal norms in your country, which groups of people do you think would most advocate for remote work? How might this trend exacerbate proximity bias in career advancement, and what steps could be taken to mitigate it?
  3. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, some companies let individual teams set their own hybrid work rules. Do you think this is a viable solution, or could it create inequality and undermine efforts to foster a sense of belonging across the entire organization?