There are three major aspects of behavioral change in the workspace that companies must analyze carefully to deliver on their organizational objectives:
1) Leadership: many leaders are unsure of how to navigate the new normal and be approachable, available and supportive of building teamwork in the hybrid setting. Leaders also need to pick up new skills in terms of using technology as a vehicle to facilitate communication and collaboration.
Another challenge is that leaders are often swamped with meetings. Even if they are in the office, they are not able to set aside time for casual conversations with their teams. It is therefore up to the leader to make sure that team-building conversations are prioritized and given a room in their calendars.
There are many interesting ways to do this. For instance, a leader could dedicate certain hours in a day for teaming and knowledge sharing. This can be a powerful way to foster a team culture. Further, there need to be new and creative ways for leaders to stay connected with the rest of the organization.
2) Individual: from an individual perspective, employees and leaders need to be more conscious about the different types of time they need to fit into their workday. They need to plan their week to make room for activity types such as individual focus work, teaming, socializing, collaborating and learning.
Planning the week is the first step that is often missed by most people. Often, calendars get filled up with meetings that exhaust 25-30 hours a week. This leaves hardly any time for focused work, learning or informal knowledge sharing.
It is crucial that employees analyze how their time is being spent on meetings and how best to optimize their calendar on a daily basis. By defining clear activity types and distributing them throughout the week, employees can ensure that their calendar is tuned for better impact and improved well-being.