By Ella Ciampi
After the COVID-19 pandemic, the EPIX team decided to adopt a hybrid working model, working from home three days a week and from the office two days a week.
During the Pandemic the team realised that they enjoyed the freedom working from home gave them and hybrid working became the norm at EPIX. Part of Mike and Ian’s personal philosophy of management is to nurture staff so they are able to produce work to the best of their ability; part of that is ensuring they are in the best environment to fulfil their tasks.
They also note that there is a benefit to staff when working from home as they don’t need to spend an hour or so commuting to the office. In turn this promotes a better work life balance, leading to happier employees, which is often reflect in happy customers.
Why I Like It
I’ve only been at EPIX since September and hybrid working was a completely new experience for me. I find it gives me a newfound sense of autonomy. The ability to choose where I work allows me to work in different environments based on what best suits the nature of the task. I find it easier to focus on some tasks when I work from home, while others are better suited to the office (as collaboration of ideas is easier). With the use of Slack and Zoom it’s never as though you’re working alone, as everyone is always happy to have a quick call to talk through ideas.
Why the Team Likes It
The rest of the team also appreciate the reduced daily commutes and, as Jess mentioned, the extra hour or so in bed. With less time spent travelling to and from the office, the team feels there are more hours in the day that can be dedicated to work or university assignments, and a reduced feeling that working after the end of the day is working late.
Having office days scheduled with the purpose of meetings gives the team a focus and drive to get their tasks done. Jess also mentioned that working from home during the pandemic caused her to become more independent and confident within her job role – she had to work independently and learn to figure out an issue herself rather than giving up when she got stuck. This has been sustained by the hybrid working mode.
There is also the element of better mental wellbeing, as Chris says “I love being able to take my dogs out for a walk over lunch time to clear my head’, along with being more flexible for evening commitments.
According to recent studies, the benefits of hybrid working extend beyond personal preferences:
- There have been improvements in organisational productivity, with more than 41% of organisations who say homeworking has increased now believing that more home/hybrid working has increased their organisation’s productivity/efficiency.
- Employee productivity also remains steady, with more than two-fifths (43%) thinking that employees in their organisation are generally more productive when they are working from home or in a hybrid way.
- Those employees who have flexible working arrangements in their current role are more likely to be satisfied than those who don’t, including in relation to their work/life balance, control over work, their job overall and their line manager.
- When it comes to the key benefits of shifting to increased homeworking or hybrid working, respondents point to: improved work/life balance (69%), improved employee satisfaction (48%), improved business flexibility and improved employee wellbeing (41%).
Statistics Provided by CIPD in April 2022
