Across the leaders I work with globally, I see the same thing. Hybrid working comes up, and the conversation gets a little… careful.
Not dramatic. Just not fully resolved. Like we all know we’re still working it out.
And we are.
Because hybrid isn’t just a policy shift. It’s a behavior shift. A leadership shift. A communication shift. And most organizations are still somewhere in the messy middle of figuring out what actually works.
I’ve been seeing this play out across industries, across regions, across leadership teams. And recently, when I spoke with Barry Winkless, who leads the Future of Work Institute at Cpl in Ireland, he put a helpful frame around it.
He said the future of work needs design, not panic.
I agree. Not that anyone is necessarily panicking but in many places, employers and employees seem stuck. They’re inconsistent. There’s a lot of good intentions without having clear structure – or structured communication to support them.
We have to stop debating hybrid and start designing it
- Where work happens
- Who is doing it
- How it actually gets done
Let’s be honest: the office still matters in many cases
For employees: visibility is no longer automatic
This is one of the biggest shifts I see.
Before, you showed up to the office and visibility came with it. Now, if you’re not physically there, you have to create that visibility yourself.
And that takes effort.
If you’re working remotely, here’s what matters more than ever:
Turn your camera on whenever you can
I know. We’re years into this and it still needs to be said.
If you can be on camera, be on camera.
Because communication is not just about your words. It’s about your presence.
Yes, I understand that sometimes for bandwidth issues or psychological safety issues, a camera must remain off. But that should be the exception, not the rule. You know the story: if I’m presenting the quarterly update and everyone’s camera is off, I have no idea if people are in front of their laptops paying rapt attention, in front of their laptops, but working on answering emails or some other thing, or away from their laptops entirely. Perhaps in another room making a cup of tea.
Like I always say during my workshops, “You wouldn’t go to an in-person meeting with a bag on your head, so why would you keep your camera off in a virtual meeting?”
Once the cameras are on, we need to take ownership of our on-camera presence and impact. But what I’m seeing more and more is complacency.
Faces that look like they don’t realize they can be seen by others.
Whether you’re the speaker or the listener, look alive, people! I’m once again calling for an end to “Resting Bitch Face” (with a non-gender-specific usage of the B-word). You can do better and you should.
If you are speaking, then remember that in a virtual context, your voice is the number one sense that people are experiencing you by. Our image may be postage-stamp sized, mosaicked in the gallery view. So it’s our voice that needs to set the weather.
Power-up your delivery by raising your volume and your energy.
Otherwise you risk minimal engagement and retention.
Build in shorter, more frequent touchpoints
We’ve gotten good at trimming meetings from 30 minutes to 25.
That’s a start.
But what I encourage leaders and teams to do is go even further:
- Book 10-minute check-ins
- Have quick 15-minute alignment calls
- Stay in light, regular contact
Because connection doesn’t happen by accident around the water cooler as often as it used to anymore. Especially when there is no water cooler in virtual-land.
So, you need to be more intentional with your team-building efforts. Whether you’re reaching up or across, don’t wait for others to make the first move. Be proactive.
If you’re early in your career, you need to be even more proactive
This is one I feel strongly about.
It is simply harder to build your network virtually.
You’re not in the room.
You’re not overhearing conversations.
You’re not being pulled into moments.
So you have to create those moments.
Reach out.
Follow up.
Keep track of who you’re connecting with.
Stay in touch with mentors, even from a distance.
Because your career still grows through relationships.
That hasn’t changed.
For employers: if you want people in the office, give them a reason
Barry said something that made me laugh, because I’ve seen it so often.
Return-to-office mandates can be an example of bad design when they bring people back “for no particular reason and solving no particular problem.”
Exactly.
People aren’t resisting the office. They’re resisting the lack of purpose.
If someone commutes in just to sit on Zoom calls all day, they’re going to question why they came in at all.
So the question becomes:
What is the office actually for?
Make it worth the effort
Barry used a great phrase, borrowed from Walt Disney, about creating something that draws people in.
And the story behind it is actually brilliant.
Apparently, Walt used to come home, grab a hot dog, or as he called it, a “weenie,” and his dog would follow him everywhere because it knew there was a treat coming.
That simple idea stuck with him.
If you want someone to move in a certain direction, don’t force them. Give them something they want to move toward.
He took that concept and applied it to how his theme parks were designed. Instead of telling people where to go, he created visual “magnets” that naturally pulled them in.
Think about it.
You’re walking through the park and you catch a glimpse of the castle in the distance. Or you spot the outline of the Haunted Mansion. Or something just looks interesting enough down a path that you decide to follow it.
That’s not accidental.
That’s design.
Those landmarks are intentionally placed so people are drawn forward, step by step, without ever feeling like they’re being directed.
And that idea translates perfectly to the workplace.
If you want people to come into the office, don’t mandate it without meaning.
Create something that pulls them in.
Not gimmicks. Not surface-level perks.
Real value.
I’ve seen this work well when organizations focus on:
- Collaboration that actually requires people together
- Client interactions that benefit from presence
- Learning and development sessions
- Leadership access that feels more natural in person
If the office offers something meaningful, people are far more willing to show up.
Because just like Walt figured out with his dog, people don’t follow instructions nearly as well as they follow something that feels worth it.
Clarity matters more than flexibility alone
Flexibility is important. Of course it is.
But too much ambiguity creates friction.
I see teams struggling when:
- No one knows who will be in and when
- People miss each other repeatedly
- Collaboration becomes inconsistent
The teams that are getting this right tend to have:
- Clear anchor days
- Defined expectations
- Shared understanding of availability
It’s not about being rigid.
It’s about being coordinated.
Hybrid requires more effort, not less
This is the part I think people underestimate.
Hybrid working takes more effort.
Not less.
It takes more effort to:
- Build trust
- Maintain energy
- Communicate clearly
- Stay aligned
I’ve coached hundreds of leaders in this environment.
And here’s something I often point out.
I have never seen their feet.
In person, we read everything. Movement. Posture. Presence.
On screen, we get a rectangle.
So everything else has to work harder.
Your voice.
Your face.
Your clarity.
If you don’t increase your intention, your impact drops.
The workforce itself is changing
Barry talks about what he calls a “work salad.”
And it’s true.
Organizations are no longer made up of one consistent group of employees. They’re a mix of:
- Full-time staff
- Contractors
- Consultants
- Freelancers
That creates flexibility. But it also creates complexity.
Because now the question becomes:
How do you build culture when not everyone belongs in the same way?
Communication has to be more deliberate
You can’t rely on informal moments anymore.
Leaders have to be clearer. More consistent. More intentional.
Because alignment doesn’t happen by accident in a hybrid, mixed workforce.
People are aligning careers with values
Another point Barry made that I see reflected in my own clients and for any of us really.
We are less loyal to an institution, colleagues or a pay check, we are increasingly focused on our own self-care and values as the driver for careers.
We are asking:
What works for me?
What gives me flexibility?
What aligns with my life?
And that’s not going away.
So organizations need to think carefully about how they create roles and opportunities that actually matter to people.
My final thought – for now
Recently, I had to cancel a flight to Abu Dhabi to work in person with senior leaders at the Department of Finance because of safety concerns due to the ongoing conflict in the region. I’m grateful that I’m being accommodated to do the work virtually. And I promise that I will make sure it’s impactful.
But I’ll be the first to also say: In person is still better.
There is something about proximity. About being in the same room. About that full, human, three-dimensional experience. We are social beings, we humans. Hybrid doesn’t replace that.
It can only complement it.
So what now?
We’re not going back to how things were, and we’re not fully settled into what comes next either. That’s the reality. Which means this is the moment to be intentional about how we show up and how we design the way we work.
For employees, that looks like bringing a higher level of awareness and effort to how you engage, whether you’re in the room or on the screen. And for employers, it means stepping back and asking more thoughtful questions about what actually makes an environment work, rather than defaulting to what feels familiar or convenient.
Because hybrid working isn’t something we figure out once and move on from. It’s something we keep refining as our teams, our tools, and our expectations evolve. And the leaders who lean into that, who treat it as an ongoing design challenge rather than a fixed solution, will be the ones who create not just better workplaces, but better ways of working altogether.
