Empowering each team leader to determine how they function by providing flexible guidelines is how businesses should function. The choice should be driven by the goals and collaborative capacities of each team member rather than the personal preferences of the team leader.

In our latest benefits insights, 99% of respondents reported that their working arrangements are not hybrid or completely remote. In a new report from Gallup, when it comes to hybrid work, 46% of employees reported being engaged when their team determines their own policy of when to come into the office. 

By contrast, 41% of respondents are content to make the decision individually and just 35% reported being engaged if leadership determines the top-down policy for everyone. 

Why is engagement higher when people have more choice about where they work?

According to the research by Gallup, team members know best what they need to do in order to collaborate and socialise together effectively. The purpose of the office is to facilitate collaboration and encourage socialisation and mentoring, and research suggests that people are much more productive on individual tasks when working from home. 

CEO of the boutique future-of-work consultancy Disaster Avoidance Experts, Gleb Tsipursky, explains that empowering each team leader to determine how they function by providing flexible guidelines is how businesses should function. The choice should be driven by the goals and collaborative capacities of each team member rather than the personal preferences of the team leader.

What do your employees want?

There is no way of knowing what your employees want until you ask them. To find out what they want, start by conducting an anonymous employee survey of your employees and their preferences toward remote or hybrid working. Every employee will be different, but they will all appreciate feeling that their input is being considered when making business decisions which affect them. Employees are likely to be a lot more receptive to internal decisions if they have had input, even if they are unhappy with the final decisions. 

If you’re a team leader who gets to make the decision on how your team works, you need to explain and justify to your team why. The justification should stem from the kinds of activities and responsibilities they do. Team leaders and managers should assess the level of collaboration their team does and trust their team to work remotely to work on individual tasks if they want to. 

Tsipursky also suggests that if people must come into the office on certain days, make these days compulsory for all to allow for team building and optimum collaboration. 

He also explains that if you want your team to be in the office more than two days a week, there should be an excellent reason as to why. 

“For example, in one company for which I consulted, the sales teams who placed outbound sales calls decided to do full-time office work. The team leaders argued persuasively that sales staff benefited greatly from being surrounded by other sales staff during outbound calls. Such calls are draining and sap motivation; being surrounded by others on the sales floor making similar calls boosts motivation and energy. Moreover, hearing others make calls offers an opportunity to learn from their successful techniques, which is difficult to arrange in telework settings. However, such exceptions are rare.”