CLEMELLE L. MONTALLANA,DM, CESE

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR III DIRECTOR

PHYSICAL PLANT, FACILITIES

Having this question, I asked 20 people by simple  Messenger Pooling or direct message. The result was that majority or 16 out of 20  or 80 percent want the new work format  They are saying that the Hybrid Work Arrangements are better at least with the Private Sector is possible. 

With every response comes a one-sentence qualification, mostly the accompanying answer was  a. economic ( no need for fare or pamasahe )  b. safe  ( less possibility of contracting Covid-19 ) c. We can do other tasks ( because they are not leaving their homes ) and surprise d. Solitude ( Privacy was the most often used term ).

The four who would like to have full on-site work arrangements were saying that  a. Its  Needed to get back at the way things are  ( the responses were copied in Toto ). b. We might be let go of our job if we insist on off-site working c.  For Mental Wellness.

Interestingly, while it’s a 16-4 count, the working men and women ages 26 to 40 years old are seemingly comfortable doing Hybrid working arrangements. And those who are opting to go back are those seemingly afraid of losing their jobs and perhaps afraid of losing their minds ( Mental Wellness ).

Siobhan Morrin Editor at Linkedin said; Hybrid work arrangements make people less likely to quit, research shows. Nicholas Bloom, the remote work expert at Stanford University in the US, says quit rates are down and satisfaction is higher at a range of global firms that offer hybrid work options, with attrition falling35% at one tech firm. Surveys have shown that workers prefer hybrid work, citing benefits such as less frequent commuting and better work-life balance. It’s these advantages that lead Bloom to believe hybrid work will thrive, even in the face of an economic downturn.

Nicholas Bloom Professor of Economics at Stanford University argues that Working from Home will persist. In his study, Bloom talked to businesses in the United States and concluded that Post Pandemic Hybrid Work will persists. Although he said the office will survive but will look different. Excerpts from his findings are written herein  “ Although firms plan to reduce the time their employees spend at work, this will not reduce the demand for total office space given the need for social distancing. The firms I talk to are typically thinking about halving the density of offices, which is leading to an increase in the overall demand for office space. That is, the 15 percent drop in working days in the office is more than offset by the 50 percent increase in demand for space per employee.

However, on that very same research, Bloom concluded that First, working from home should be part-time.

Full-time working from home is problematic for three reasons: It is hard to be creative at a distance, it is hard to be inspired and motivated at home, and employee loyalty is strained without social interaction.

In all, the study was remarkable and happy in the short term but in the long term, it’s not.  Perhaps, an added break would be great but eventually, we need to go back to the way it was. Nicholas Bloom concluded that it must just be part-time and I am in agreement. //