Rise of the Hybrid Workforce

As users, we have progressed from computers and tablets to hybrid solutions such as the Microsoft Surface that allows us greater flexibility when both working and enjoying some hard-earned leisure time. This has taught us that there is no longer a one-size fits all approach to anything anymore, so with this new found wisdom, it is time perhaps to look at ourselves and what we might have to offer too?

Arriving at office and clocking in at 9 am to perform one singular role for 8 hours a day is becoming increasingly irrelevant in our fast moving digital world. Knowing your way around technology is no longer confined to the IT department as we are actively encouraged to be a jack of all trades rather than a one trick pony, to have any chance of standing out in the crowd.

The old adage ‘if you don’t want to be underpaid, don’t be under skilled’ seems more relevant now than it did back in the old analogue world. However, most would agree that continuously learning and adapting would naturally expand your universe as you build your skill set.

Virtual assistants, for example, can now juggle a full-time career and family life much easier by working during times that suit them but also perform the magic for others by managing their emails, calendars, appointments, files or even the booking of their flights or hotels.

It doesn't seem too long ago that living the dream meant having your own office with a view and a receptionist like “Mad Men” protagonist Don Draper (Jon Hamm) had.

The freedom of working from wherever and whenever with clients from every corner of this connected world is also behind the booming success of freelancing. There are now 53 million freelancers in the U.S., and analysts are predicting that this trend will continue to grow as technology sets workers free from the daily grind and often subjective corporate performance reviews.

The flexibility for a solopreneur of being able to work either onsite or remotely with whom they choose to do business with is dramatically changing the business landscape. A diversified workforce with an income generated by multiple sources could see a part-time office worker in a traditional role by day moonlighting as an Uber driver and freelance writer.

Could these changes signal the end of the days where we work for a single employer and rather than travel to the office during the dreaded rush-hour, opt instead for a life of the more appealing remotely connecting digital nomad instead?

Although this new way of working offers obvious benefits to individuals who want to escape the slave to the grind that comes with corporate life, in order to give themselves more family time together with a happier lifestyle, however I do wonder if this offers any advantage for the employers as well?

A flexible workforce enables a company to be more flexible too, and this ability to be truly agile is becoming more and more important than ever as our world feels like it's moving at a thousand miles an hour. Business leaders now have the ability to cherry pick the best professionals from all around the world in order to complete essential tasks as and when they require them.

Creating a hybrid team comprising the best talent of both onsite and remote workers has the capability of transforming how businesses are run. Another welcome feature for employers is that in some instances they also get more bang for their buck by waving goodbye to high recruiting fees as well as full time employee overhead costs and taxes.

A happy, motivated team comprising the best professionals from across the world for a cost structure lower than that of today's full time employed on-site office workforce might sound like a utopian fantasy, however, technology is turning this dream into reality. Both businesses and employees ought to consider this new employment option and incorporate it as part of their overall human resource skill pool.

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