Unlocking Hybrid Work Reading List [4/19/21]

Apr 19, 2021

Your regular summary of the most important news, trends, insights, and company updates related to hybrid work.

Return To Office, Vaccines, and Timelines

America reaches milestone with COVID-19 vaccine widely available to those who want it [via USAToday.com]. USA TODAY's panel of experts celebrate the success of the U.S. COVID-19 vaccine program but worry that although most Americans can get a shot, too many won't.
Microsoft won’t fully reopen its offices until September 7th at the earliest [via The Verge]. Pushing back its original July plan by a few months
Does Your Company Need an Employee Vaccination Policy? [via CMS Wire]. Given that vaccinations are voluntary, can companies mandate that employees and customers be vaccinated in order to employ them or do business with them?
How to Get Employees Ready to Return to The Office [via Fast Company]. As vaccination rates rise and employers begin to plan to reopen their offices, there’s a big question: How do you motivate employees to return?
Survey: Employees Want a Hybrid Workplace So Much They're Even Willing to Pay For It [via Fool.com]. Many employees work flexibility so badly that they are willing to forfeit benefits, perks, and even their own money to do it.

10 ways office work will never ben the same [via Vox]. From where we work to how our work is measured, office work will be permanently different after the pandemic.
What Psychological Safety Looks Like in a Hybrid Workplace [via Harvard Business Review]. Sorting out hybrid work arrangements will require managers to rethink and expand one of strongest proven predictors of team effectiveness: psychological safety.
Why the hybrid workplace suits a new era of work [via the HR Director]. The workplace is no longer simply an office. Last year’s shift toward remote work is ushering in the concept of the hybrid workplace.
Top 5 things to know about the hybrid workplace [via TechRepublic]. Microsoft's Work Trend Index report looked at the lessons learned from working remotely in 2020.
Bridging the gap between the needs of employees and leaders in the future hybrid workplace [via Diginomica]. New research out this week suggests that employees and leaders have differing concerns, priorities and fears about what the future workplace might look like as the Vaccine Economy takes hold.
5 Tips To Optimize The Success Of Your Hybrid Return To Office Plan [via Forbes]. With office investments to maintain, but half of at-home employees saying they would prefer to continue working remotely, many employers are looking to physical-virtual hybrid workplaces as the best of both worlds.

Ford Retools Headquarters for Hybrid Work [via Wall Street Journal]. Awaiting returning staff: A check-in app, ambient sensors to alert managers of crowded workspaces and videoconferencing carts
State Farm Moving To Hybrid Workplace Model [via WGLT]. State Farm is changing how its employees work on a permanent basis. The Bloomington-based insurer announced Friday it is introducing hybrid roles where most people will be part time in the office and part time at home.

3 ways to Foster Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) in the Hybrid Workplace [via CEOWorld Magazine]. The path to greater diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) will require emotionally intelligent and human leaders.
Cisco, Microsoft and a Simulated Workplace Future [via TechNewsWorld]. As is often the case when technology is advancing very rapidly, the leading providers of an evolving class of products are on very different pages.
How to build empathetic managers for the hybrid workplace [via Canadian Underwriter]. Empathic managers will become even more valuable in the hybrid workplaces that are expected to emerge after the pandemic is over, according to researchers in Gartner’s HR practice.

👏Thanks for reading! More to come later this week! 👏

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