Three Practices To Help You Adapt, Thrive, And Stay Relevant In The Hybrid Work World

By: Roopa Maniktala

It is reasonable to expect that the future of your work is being redesigned and will evolve soon. As someone who has straddled between working full-time in an office setup to 100% virtual setting without location constraints and a mix of both worlds, I reached out to others who have been in similar situations to compare their experience of making the most of hybrid work settings.

A blended work week that entails office and remote set up can be an opportunity to maximize face-to-face interactions for collaboration and ideation while providing flexibility for improving overall contributions at work.

Three practices come up as practical approaches to adapt, thrive, and stay relevant in workplaces that will blend face-to-face and virtual collaboration or lean in more on virtual settings.

Dedicated focus on an outside perspective.

A hybrid work scenario could mean that the organic opportunity to engage face-to-face with people outside immediate customers and teams is limited. This can lead to deep engagement and collaboration within groups, but limited interaction with others.

A dedicated effort to gain an outside perspective from external networks and people who are not intimately involved with your work situation always helps with problem solving to improve performance and impact. Planning for career development and networking opportunities in advance will be important to get the most of limited time in face-to-face settings.

Squads and networks not only help you grow professionally, but provide a platform to keep abreast with the latest in your industry.

[Related: I Was Part of My First Squad This Past Year. It Was a Game-Changer.]

Scheduling time to dial up learning.

Digital work culture is opening up opportunities to do meaningful work without place and time constraints. Digital collaboration tools are changing the rate, pace, and intensity of ideas exchanged while helping us connect with great people and learn all the time.

Adapting to the nuances of the hybrid work world are excellent opportunities for women who have lost jobs during the pandemic and need to consider new career options. American women lost more than five million jobs in America alone in 2020.

In particular, taking time to learn new skills and rethink work is an opportunity for those who are navigating career change. Scheduling time to prioritize and dial up learning is an effective way to move from intent to action for achieving full potential at work.

[Related: Three Ways to Use a Crisis as an Opportunity to Stand Out]

Mastering relevance through reflection and recharge.

Staying relevant at work starts with being healthy and energetic. Good health makes it easier to stay focused on achieving the best outcomes by being present to listen intently and engage for collaboration.

Being intentional about the start and end of a working day is simpler with a commute, but equally important in a digital workday to avoid fatigue. Taking the time to wrap up and reflect helps create a trigger to recharge while enabling us to focus on staying close to priorities for achieving success at work.

Reflecting on the past week and month can be a simple way to optimize and focus on the big goals that need all your energy and talent.

What do you believe can make a difference? I would like to hear about your experiences.

[Related: Networking in the Digital Age]

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Roopa Maniktala is a Marketing and Communications Leader with global business experience at IBM, serving clients on their digital transformation journey. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion, work culture, and advancing children and women with technology.