WFH Vs WFO Vs Hybrid Model: Which is Better?

Since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, there are a number of changes and challenges in the lives of people that they got to face. Online payment, shopping for groceries, medicine, and other necessities, also includes online education and a work-from-home model. Of all these mentioned elements, the major one that continues to struggle even after the pandemic, is the working model of organizations. There are major companies that are still not able to decide between, the Work From Home (WFH), hybrid, or Work From Office Model (WFO).

When the Covid-19 Pandemic began across the world in the year 2020 bringing restrictions on mobility, companies looked for alternatives to keep their work going, several sectors shifted to the WFH model of work. However, this model had several challenges along with various benefits.

Along the lines, when restrictions began to be lifted while decreasing the number of Covid-19 cases, companies adopted the hybrid model of work, and when the cases reached a minimal level, they are again trying to go back to shifting towards the WFO model of work.

However, while some employees are happy to come back to the office, on the other hand, some want the WFH or hybrid model to stay, and bid adieu to the ‘WFO’ model of work. This has triggered the debate on the best model of work and contemplation to adopt the best one. In this situation, there arise many questions:

• Is ‘work from home’ better than ‘work from office’?
• Is hybrid working good?
• Why working from the office is better than working from home?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of working from home?
• and many more!

So, in actuality, which is the best model to work among these? Let’s find out this in this article:

Difference Between WFO, WFH, and Hybrid

While we talk about which model of work is better, it becomes really important for us to understand the difference between the three models of work. Let’s understand them:

1. Work From Office: Abbreviated as ‘WFO’, the working model requires all employees to be in the office throughout the working days. This is the usually followed model of work.

2. Work From Home: The Work From Home model of working which is abbreviated as the ‘WFH’ model is the setup of working where employees of an organization are working from their residences. Under this model, employees connected and communicated with each other via online sources for work purposes. The sources include, such as Slack, Zoom, and Google Meet.

3. Hybrid Work Model: This model of work is a blend of both WFH and WFO. Under this setup employees of an organization are supposed to follow both the above-mentioned model of work. The days on which the employees have to be in the office and work from home are decided by the leadership of the organization.

Work From Home – Pros and Cons:

It wouldn’t be wrong if we call it the most comfortable model of working for a huge number of working professionals. This model has no bars on what you do and how you do it. Because working from the comfort of your home, is the best for any individual or lets for most people. Waking up right before the beginning of the shift or meeting starts, binge eating, doing household chores during the work shift, and having afternoon naps, we all have been there. That’s the reason most people love this model of work.

However, this model has great consequences as well. Hampering the work-life balance, this model turned out to be good and bad for different groups of people. While it provided flexibility for many, for some, it became 24×7 working as it gave them the flexibility of working anytime and work call after the working that badly ruined the working life after working hours.

A survey by Colliers survey that included Small-sized (less than 500 employees), mid-sized (501-5000 employees), and large-sized firms (over 5,000 employees) indicated that over 9 percent of the companies that participated in the survey opted for remote work throughout the working days.

Hybrid Work Model – Pros and Cons:

Hybrid is a blend of WFH and WFO working models. Under the model, an organization’s leadership takes the decision of calling employees for in-office work based on employees’ requirements for work in the office. The usual practice that is followed under this model, is that half of the people of a team or department work from and on the same day the other stays on WFH. Also, it is done with departments as well, according to the convenience of the organization and what suits better employees.

The best thing about this model that has turned out till now, is the work-life balance. Because people become able to spend time with family as well as work in their comfortable environment. However, it doesn’t work out for all the people due to the confusion of keeping a tab on in-office working days and WFH. So, it has the potential of becoming hectic as well.

The Colliers survey revealed that over 63 percent of companies currently considering going on with the hybrid working model. The same survey noted that over 28 percent of companies that participated in the survey believe that the biggest challenge with the hybrid work model is the communication barrier and lack of collaboration among employees.

Work From Office – Pros and Cons:

After getting the taste of WFH and hybrid, a good number of people have started to hate the WFO model of work. Under this setup, employees are expected to become to the office throughout the work and it actually gets hectic as people get only weekends to manage their life apart from work. While the WFO model provides better communication in the work environment, it is better for gelling with new people as and coming out of a monotonous atmosphere.

The most negative aspect of this working model is travel expenses and other expenses that come along and could be saved in the above-mentioned setups. Continues, travel, non-stop work, and stress related to that can result in burnout as well, which later on turns out to be a major issue. In terms of numbers, over 28 percent of participants of Colliers survey, stated that they would call their employees back to the office 5 days a week.

Conclusion:

Although WFO is the favorite model of work for companies or organizations, employees mostly contradict this aspect. A report by Gallup titled ‘Returning to the Office: The Current, Preferred and Future State of Remote Work’ revealed that approximately 56 percent of employees who are working full-time feel that their work can be done even while working remotely. The report released in August based on the estimation of more than 70 million employees, also states that only 2 out of 10 employees who are capable of working remotely, are working on-site.

So, considering all the factors, some jobs do require employees to be in the office, for example, people operating machines or in a leadership position who need to do inspections. On the hand, some jobs can be done remotely such as, people involved in paperwork and documentation, and especially the work that requires online communication, can work remotely. However based on their needs, they are called to the office. This brings us to the conclusion that the best working model can vary from organization to organization, based on various factors including the company’s workflow and services/products, team size, job roles, expenditures, etc.