How hybrid working has spawned five tribes
Digital nomad or wanderlust worker? Know your staff and you’ll understand how to get the best from them.
As the hybrid workplace continues to evolve, new habits and styles of working have begun to emerge. With unprecedented flexibility and a focus on wellbeing, employees are creating their own, unique experience of work which aligns with their personal needs and levels of productivity, outside of the traditional nine-to-five.
Much about the way we have traditionally worked has shifted over the past three years. Many employees now want to define their own way of work and leverage the available flexibility.
As a result, we’ve seen new employee archetypes slowly make an appearance. It is incredibly important that companies understand these archetypes so that they can extract the most out of their team members and create a productive and healthy work environment for all.
We have identified five key employee archetypes that have emerged from hybrid working, along with the individual benefits and challenges of each style.
- The Digital Nomad
Digital Nomads are remote workers, including those who work primarily from home or another remote location but may occasionally come into the office. Remote workers reap many benefits, including increased flexibility, reduced commuting time and the ability to work from anywhere. However, they also face unique challenges, such as feeling isolated from their colleagues and a lack of face-to-face interaction.
If you’re a business and worried about remote workers, ask yourself whether your physical workplace is offering genuine, meaningful reasons for people to come in, such as collaboration or team brain-storming.
The current workplace post-pandemic is less about command and control and more about creating an experience of work that is empowering and authentic for the individual and teams.
- The Office Chameleon
This is the hybrid worker, which includes employees who split their time between working in the office and working from home or another remote location. Hybrid workers get the best of both worlds, as they enjoy the benefits of remote work while also being able to collaborate with colleagues in person. Yet, they also face challenges, such as managing their work-life balance and finding a comfortable and productive work environment.
- The Wanderlust Worker
This employee type is the deskless worker, which includes employees who don’t have a traditional office desk but may work in a variety of different spaces, including remote locations, co-working spaces or other shared spaces. Deskless workers offer companies increased flexibility as they can work from a variety of locations, but they also face similar challenges to the Office Chameleon, which is finding a space where they can remain focused.
You may find that the Wanderlust Worker flourishes in the third space or even a work-from-anywhere scenario, which offers a creative alternative to the home or office environment. This could be cafes, libraries or parks, or overseas travel - anything out of the ordinary that may stimulate the imagination.
- The Taskmaster
The Taskmaster is an on-demand worker, which includes employees who work on a project-by-project basis, rather than having a traditional full-time job. They may work from a variety of locations, remotely or in-person. On-demand workers offer companies increased flexibility as they can be hired on an as-needed basis, but they also come with their own set of challenges, such as managing their work-life balance and ensuring they have the right technology to be productive while working from different locations.
- The Insight Instigator
These are knowledge workers, who include employees who work primarily with information, such as software developers, data scientists, and researchers. Knowledge workers offer companies increased expertise and creativity. The knowledge worker faces similar issues around productive technology use and work-life balance as the on-demand worker.
So, who’s more likely to score the promotion? It really depends on an organisation’s leadership and how prepared they are to support their people via culture, technology and environment to create the best possible experience of work for them.
These new employee archetypes in the hybrid workplace offer companies and employees a variety of benefits and challenges. With the right strategies and tools in place, companies can create a workplace that supports their employees and helps everybody thrive.
Angela Ferguson is managing director and co-founder of workplace consultancy Future X Collective.
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