Why Hybrid Working Requires Hybrid Learning

Hybrid modes of working have been taking the corporate and public sectors by storm. Many employers are now taking steps to match them with hybrid modes of learning. Is that a step in the direction? Is hybrid learning essential to hybrid working? Why is hybrid learning important to that end? 

Keep reading to find out what the difference hybrid learning makes when it comes to making hybrid working more productive, efficient, and cost-effective.

New Normal

In the pandemic-affected world, lots of people transitioned from office-based employment to remote working. During the 2020 COVID-19 surge in the United States, 70% of full-time workers were working from home. According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, two-thirds of Australians were working from home in 2021. In many ways, remote working has become a new normal for millions of people across the world. 

Employers are getting increasingly amenable to developing flexible working arrangements for their employees to minimize disruptions, reduce costs, and increase productivity. That is because there is growing evidence showing that the hours spent in a physical office do not necessarily equal productivity. This is a lesson well learned. 

A growing number of employers offer flexible modes and hours of work to their employees. These are combinations of on-site and remote work schedules that are developed in line with company goals and needs. 

Any combination of these is a type of hybrid work that many people start expecting as a given. “Nearly half of employees (47%) will likely hunt for a job if their employer does not implement a flexible working style,” according to a recent poll performed by Envoy and Wakefield Research.

Those who were able to move to the next level realized that the success of hybrid work models could not be sustained with traditional learning approaches. This gave rise to hybrid learning models. Here’s why hybrid learning is key to effective hybrid work.

Better Time Management

In-person learning events have clear benefits, such as face-to-face contact and sustained focus on the training and learning process. However, they have a downside too. I’m sure you’ve seen many participants taking frequent breaks to attend to some important work-related matters. Others might look too tired or disinterested to keep their focus sharp.

At the end of the day, both learning and work objectives turn out to be compromised. Hybrid learning gives employees the flexibility to pick and mix in-person and remote learning options that can be reconciled with their work schedule. Instead of spending several consecutive days on training, they can stagger their learning sessions for better time management and greater learning and work-related outcomes.

Increased Productivity

Proceeding from the above, hybrid learning contributes to greater productivity for people with flexible work schedules and modes. Performance results do not need to be sacrificed in the name of achieving better learning outcomes. Employees can attune their learning goals to the work schedules so as to create sufficient space for both objectives to be achieved with minimum disruptions to either. 

Not only does this increase overall productivity, but it also makes learning efforts more cost-effective in terms of achieving the work objectives more efficiently. Efficiency and reliability are important considerations. These are critical factors for students to consider when they need to complete college assignments. That is why they use the best online paper writing services to get an objective and professional evaluation of the available writing services. 

Better Work-life Balance

We all know that remote or hybrid work comes with its own set of challenges. The pandemic has aggravated many of them even further. Managing stress is a critical challenge for people, especially if they spend most of their time in isolation. The lack of social contacts can lead to demotivation, fatigue, and emotional burnout. 

When people are given the flexibility to juggle their hybrid learning and work models to strike a balance, they are able to maintain a healthier work-life balance.

Increased Relevance 

Hybrid learning can also better fit the varying learning styles of employees. Some are fast learners, and some need more time and space to digest and internalize new learning. Learning styles have a direct bearing on the degree to which the learning improves their performance. 

Learning is effective when it is iterative. By design, hybrid learning is better suited to the requirements of hybrid learning, paving the way for sustaining learning outcomes for a longer period of time.

With hybrid learning, progress is incremental, and every new point learned is a notch on your belt. This is what makes the combination of hybrid learning and hybrid working all the more effective for employers.

Increased Efficiency

Learning as you go is perhaps the most important consideration here. While alternating learning and working modes and hours, employees are given the opportunity to follow a ‘learn-apply-review-improve-reapply’ continuum. It allows them to digest learning piecemeal while seeking incremental improvements in their work as a result of the new learning.

Advanced managers are able to find an optimal balance between the hybrid working and hybrid learning models, which creates propitious conditions for both individual and corporate excellence.

Making It Work

Hybrid working is gradually becoming a new standard. In the wake of the pandemic, companies and public agencies have learned that flexible work schedules and hours are often more effective than traditional work practices. So are hybrid learning approaches. 

For hybrid work approaches to be successful, they need to be complemented by hybrid learning models to ensure greater management and operational efficiencies, sustained learning, and more productive performance results. Employers able to find an optimum balance between the two are more likely to achieve better outcomes for themselves and their employees.