The reluctant enforcers: why managers and HR struggle to implement hybrid work policies
August 28, 2024
September 3, 2024
In the heart of Silicon Valley, where innovation beats faster than anywhere else in the world, the shiny offices of companies like Meta, Apple, and Salesforce stand as monuments to a pre-pandemic world that no longer (entirely) exists.
Once buzzing with the constant murmur of in-person collaboration, these buildings are now half-empty as hybrid work policies take center stage. Many see the shift as the future of work. However, despite its many benefits, there is a surprising reluctance among managers and HR professionals to enforce these hybrid work policies.
The question is why is this happening?
To better understand this hesitation, it’s essential to highlight the complexities of the hybrid work model, the challenges, and the differences in how the United States and the European countries approach it.
The troubled truce: executive leadership vs. employee desires
As Rob Sadow, the CEO & Co-Founder of Flex Index, mentioned in a recent webinar by Epoch,
"Hybrid work is a truce between executive leadership and the average employee."
And this truce is a consequence of the division (perhaps inevitable) in today’s workplace: on one end, we have the executives who follow traditional management practices and value the physical presence in the office, considered the hub of creativity, collaboration, and corporate culture.
On the (opposite) side, we have the employees who have now tasted the freedom of remote work and are unwilling to give it up. The results? Hybrid work: a well-known model that tries to satisfy each part's needs but instead creates little tension from both sides.
Particularly where companies have decided to set up specific hybrid work policies for their employees. Flex’s stats tell us that in the U.S., the average company requires employees to be in the office about 2.63 days a week1.
This number increases for larger companies, like Salesforce and Meta, as they tend to enforce stricter policies, with three days in the office per week.
Despite these rules in place, companies are struggling to have employees on board, and more often than not, they have to face significant challenges when trying to enforce them.
As Jackie Tsai, Senior Manager of Workplace Experience at Chime, pointed out, many companies would rather not enforce strict penalties for non-compliance even when they have policies in place. Instead, they prefer to create an office environment that encourages employees to participate willingly.
This reluctance comes also from a fear of pushing away employees in a highly competitive job market.
Companies like Chime, which offer generous perks (like commuter benefits and childcare support), aspire to make the office space more attractive than compulsory.
They hope that by providing the right incentives, employees will choose to come in on their own accord and actually spend time being productive in a space that fits their expectations. However, this approach doesn’t always prove to be successful, and attendance rates don’t hit the mark.
The European approach: a contrast in cultures
Across the Atlantic, the approach to hybrid work is quite different.
In the European Union, where labor laws are generally more employee-friendly, and unions hold more influence, hybrid work has been more widely implemented and with fewer frictions.
For example, countries like Germany and the Netherlands have embraced flexible work arrangements. Their laws support remote work as a right rather than a privilege. In the Netherlands, employees have the legal right to request remote work, and employers must provide a solid reason to deny such a request.
This legislative support has created a cultural change, with hybrid work being seen as the norm rather than the exception. European companies tend to have more structured hybrid policies, clear expectations, and better compliance mechanisms.
Moreover, the European focus on work-life balance has long been a bedrock of employment practices. The hybrid model fits elegantly into these cultural values, allowing employees to balance their professional and personal lives healthier. As a result, there is less resistance from both management and employees when it comes to adhering to hybrid work policies.
The challenges of compliance
Despite their differences in approach, U.S. and European companies still face similar challenges when enforcing hybrid work policies.
One of the most significant issues is the difficulty in monitoring and managing employee compliance.
Rob Sadow also mentioned that employees have creatively found ways of circumventing in-office requirements. Practices like coffee badging, where employees briefly show up at the office to mark their presence before leaving, are becoming increasingly common. This not only makes enforcement problematic but also raises questions about the effectiveness of the hybrid model itself.
And managers are the ones who struggle the most in this situation, finding themselves between a rock and a hard place.
On the one hand, they are expected to comply with company policies and ensure that employees are present in the office as required. On the other hand, they need to maintain team morale and productivity, and policies can negatively impact all of this if they are enforced rigidly.
Furthermore, there is the issue of executive alignment.
As Sadow discussed, if executives are in office more frequently than required, it can create a sense of uneasiness and a perception that perhaps the minimum policy is inadequate and that stricter rules will soon come. This can fracture the trust between employees and leadership, complicating the implementation of hybrid work policies even further.
The future of hybrid work: a question of design and culture
So, how do we sort this out and minimize this conflict?
As companies continue to navigate the complexities of hybrid work, one thing is clear: the success of this model cannot be placed solely on policy enforcement. Instead, it requires a 360-degree rethinking of workplace design and culture.
In a striking analogy, Sadow's description of the office as a party rings particularly true. If the office is a vibrant, engaging place where employees want to meet their colleagues and work on interesting projects, then enforcement becomes less of an issue. Conversely, if the office is still the old-fashioned, cubicle-style, dark, lifeless, death-of-creativity place (we used to see in those old 90s sitcoms), then no amount of policy enforcement will make it a desirable destination.
Companies that succeed in the hybrid work era have to create office environments specifically designed to support activities that cannot be replicated remotely.
That’s the key. An office that has a new purpose and a new face.
The new space should include areas for fostering mentorship opportunities, encouraging collaboration, and facilitating social interaction. It should also include spaces to mingle and be creative.
At the same time, company policies and leadership actions must be crystal-clearly aligned. Executives need to model the behavior they expect from their employees, demonstrating a commitment to the hybrid model through their attendance patterns.
No funny business - just openness and an honest approach.
In the coming years, as data becomes increasingly central to workplace management, companies will also need to adopt more sophisticated methods of measuring the success of their hybrid work models. This includes tracking employee engagement, productivity, and retention rates and assessing the impact of hybrid policies on overall business performance. Only by integrating data from multiple sources can companies comprehensively understand how hybrid work affects their organizations.
As the world of work keeps moving and evolving, so does the hybrid work model.
More challenges and opportunities will arise, and companies will need to work fast to avoid being left behind by their competitors. It’s clear now that simple rule enforcement is not the answer. Instead, the key to success is creating a workplace employees want to be a part of—a place that fosters connection, collaboration, and a shared sense of purpose. By designing an office environment that truly adds value to the employee experience, companies can move beyond mere enforcement and towards a model of work that benefits everyone.
1. https://www.flexindex.com/stats
