New Work: Global myths about hybrid work

The world’s largest companies are taking different approaches when it comes to remote work. Some companies are closing offices completely, while others are trying to bring all employees back into the office. Depending on what works best for the company.

Dell Technologies, for example, has made it its mission to offer flexible options to its employees. In the end, the question for companies is how and where they can best achieve their business goals. 

So why do many companies still resist working remotely?

The most commonly cited reasons are as follows:

– not conducive to company culture 
– new employees may feel excluded
– working in the office is more productive than working from home
– career opportunities are significantly greater in the office

When it comes to remote working, Dell Technologies is clearly one of the pioneers of our time. For more than 12 years, they have offered their employees the flexibility to work from home, driven by the belief that work is an outcome and not tied to time and place.

The management of Dell Technology believes that such an approach can work for almost any business. They prove it themselves with their “Connected Workplace” hybrid work model, which has been positively embraced by employees, creating a healthy corporate culture. They deliberately focus on employee engagement, giving them the feeling that they are part of the company. As a result, Dell Technologies has built a diverse as well as inclusive team. 

The key to the hybrid work model is: flexibility

At Dell Technologies, flexibility means remaining agile, listening, learning, and adapting. Common myths of hybrid work have been debunked by employees. 

One common myth is that the company culture cannot be sustained. To this end, Dell Technologies recently conducted a survey on “team member engagement” and was privileged to find that this is not true.

Dell Technologies team members (94%) saw company culture and values, as well as work flexibility, as the most important differentiators compared to other companies.

People believe that customers and innovation are the foundation of success. People want to win together as a team and achieve results with integrity. Team members’ work results were consistent regardless of work style. This is fact for team members who have been with the company for many years as well as team members hired in the last 2 years.

This result shows that as a team, you don’t necessarily have to sit and work together in a physical building for the company culture to be sustained. In the end, you are united by your shared values, strong company culture, and common purpose, not by where you work.

Integrate new members into the team

Another common myth about hybrid working is that new team members often feel left out because they lack proximity to the team. Dell Technologies can disprove this myth as well.

Team members who were hired in the early stages of the pandemic feel just as much a part of the team and were able to build strong relationships within the team. A higher turnover could not be found in this context. More than 90% of team members find Dell Technologies has an inclusive culture for all and feel a sense of belonging.

This is attributed to purposeful action aimed at driving inclusion and connection. To this end, resources such as special mentoring programs, numerous group opportunities and various events are used to foster and strengthen the team’s sense of community.

There is also a global interactive event series called “The Great Reconnect” to intentionally engage team members and showcase the various resources that bring the employee philosophy to life.

Equal career opportunities for all

A third common myth is that team members have greater learning and career opportunities in the office. Dell Technologies team members (90%) say that every employee has the opportunity to grow and learn new skills. This is true for employees who work remotely as well as those who work in the office.

There would be no significant differences in performance, engagement or rewards between remote or office locations. This is also the view of team members themselves, who do not feel that office-based employees are favored over those who work remotely.

With a high-performing culture at Dell Technologies and a wide range of on-demand virtual learning solutions, individual team members can be targeted to help them achieve their career goals, regardless of where they work. 

Dell University’s mission is to help team members develop skills for the future, transform agility and build leaders. Even during the pandemic, Dell continued to innovate, deliver products and introduce new offerings to customers – under exceptionally difficult circumstances.

The magic word is flexibility

Offering flexibility through hybrid work models is working very well, at least for Dell Technologies. The focus is on performance, balance, connection and inclusion. They strive for excellence and say about themselves “We are satisfied, but never satisfied.” There is pride, but they remain humble and strive to continuously improve hybrid work. 

The future of work is looked forward to with optimism and confidence. In this regard, great emphasis continues to be placed on creativity and inspiration for implementation. At Dell Technologies, they also try to continue to focus on preserving and strengthening the very special corporate culture and the strong track record of the last 38 years (!). 

Dell Technologies is committed to help every team member do his/her best, regardless of where he/she works from. They believe other companies should do exactly the same, especially given the ever-increasing need for top talent. Hybrid work models allow employers to recruit and hire from anywhere in the world, which is a huge advantage for the company as well as the employees.

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* Source: Dell Technologies