The CEO of Gitlab, Sid Sijbrandij, has said hybrid is the “worst of both worlds.” Primarily because managing it is a nightmare and the inequality it brings.

I agree with the inequality part, and have written my own thoughts on it here.

But now I want to talk about the drawbacks of everyone back in the office full time or completely remote, and how hybrid (a bit of both) can actually help…

The Office has Travel and Flexibility Issues

Studies show that commuting is considered the least enjoyable activity of the day. It takes away valuable time from self care, family, and sleep. One of our team members has a 90 minute commute, and it’s not something they ever want to go back to.

And for people with disabilities, the commute can be a barrier to opportunity. Before the pandemic, even getting a job interview was a challenge for disabled people. Removing the option has allowed them to work better on their jobs. The flexibility of remote work allowed them to take care of things regarding their disability without taking a hit on productivity.

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Having an in-office only workplace will make many people with disabilities quit and work elsewhere. Why is this important? Because people with disabilities have unique life experiences that can help design better, more inclusive products. It’s bringing a more diverse culture to your organization.

So all office options aren’t the best, but remote has its fair share of problems too.

Remote Work can be More Isolating

About 89% of employees want to go back to the office at least some of the time. We wanted to go hybrid primarily because of a desire to just talk to each other. The office has its own fun benefits, such as free coffee, face to face time, and team lunches.

We’ve had our best creative discussions come from a problem and then hopping together on a whiteboard to solve it. We have not experienced that level of seamlessness in a remote environment (we’re all hours away from each other).

On another note: not everyone has access to a secure internet connection at home. Nor do they have a good “home office”. Some people live in a noisy and distracting house, the office is where they do their best work.

Hybrid: Best of Both Worlds

Forcing employees to come to the office will not remove all the problems listed above. But, it can still cut down the problems of each environment drastically. To truly remove these issues, employers would have to give employees the number of days they’d come to the office per week. And equally important, the organization must measure performance based on metric driven results vs “being in the office”.

That organization would have a hybrid culture that’s the best of both worlds. It’s what we plan to do.