Oops – how to avoid today’s flex work discussion becoming a leadership challenge tomorrow

Hybrid Teams & Flex Work - Getting it right now will avoid problems down the track.

Now that we are returning to the workplace, especially in Melbourne, there are going to be a lot more conversations about flexible work.

Who gets to come in? Who gets to work from home?

On which days? How many days?

When do you need the whole team in at the same time?

And the outcome of those discussions will set expectations for the months to come.

Who wants to avoid that awkward situation, when you need your whole team at the office but you can’t get agreement e.g. one of them says “Sorry, that’s my flex day – I’m not coming in”.

You end up spending valuable hours trying to find a time that works for everyone, only to have some people drop out of the last minute, half your team being in the office, and half out - when you wanted everyone on the same physical location at the one-time.

Once expectations are set, they are hard to break.

Your agreements about flex work this week might cost you dearly a month from now.

How are you planning to handle flex work conversations in your team? Are you talking to everybody one on one?

Use this framework to help manage expectations: “Seven Questions to Tick off for a Productive Flex Work Discussion”.

Set yourself up today for a productive hybrid team tomorrow.