A recent STEM/MARK for Home Credit study reveals that half of the Czech Republic’s population favors a hybrid work model, a blend of working from home and office. Interestingly, almost forty percent of the surveyed employers currently offer their employees the flexibility to choose their work location.
Experts predict that this trend is here to stay, with more people likely to be working from home in the future. Sociologist Tomáš Doseděl from Masaryk University in Brno stated, “The hybrid model will increasingly prevail. It’s a logical development in our post-materialistic society. People gain more time for family, hobbies, and self-care. The key is to schedule work correctly.”
The rise in people working entirely or partially from home began after the recent COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed society for several months. Doseděl emphasized the role of technology in enabling the hybrid model, allowing people to work and stay connected with colleagues from virtually anywhere.
According to Doseděl, the hybrid model also brings benefits to employers. People working from home automatically accept a different work schedule from the traditional one. They don’t work in a set time frame until they have completed their tasks. This saves employers costs for heating, water, and lighting. Offices are expected to downsize gradually, and it will no longer be the norm for each employee to have their desk at the company.
However, the hybrid model also brings some challenges. People must better define their work boundaries, such as when and what performance they deliver. It’s crucial to prevent the system from turning into working from morning to evening, which can lead to burnout.
Employees appreciate the time saved commuting to and from work the most in the hybrid model, which they can devote to family and other activities. An example of the successful implementation of the hybrid model is the Brno company Home Credit, a financial services provider. The company employs 600 people in the Czech Republic and over 200 people in Slovakia. “We have verified that our employees can work from home, and it has no negative impact on efficiency. The most frequently used regime is that they are at work for three days and work from home for two days,” said Miloš Nejezchleb, director of its HR division.