Creating effective hybrid work policies: Top tips & template

Hybrid work offers employees the best of both worlds – the flexibility of remote work and the camaraderie of in-office time. But managing a hybrid workforce is not an easy feat, which is why you need to ensure you have the right hybrid work policy.

Often, homeworkers end up working longer hours with fewer career advancement opportunities than their in-office counterparts. Additionally, a lack of a formal hybrid work policy could leave your employees anxious or demotivated. In some cases, it could also create two classes of workers, remote and in-office, with remote employees being treated as “second-class.”

‍So, once you've established your business is ready for hybrid work, you need to create a strong hybrid working policy that:

• Is equitable and fair to everyone
• Provides the right working conditions to all employees
• Outlines all available hybrid arrangements and requirements
• Sets clear rules for remote and office work, including working hours, required office presence, and communication channels and tools

We also advise you to use hybrid work software to make desk booking and attendance management easier.

Just as workplace policies or employee handbooks outline dos and don'ts for employees, hybrid working policies should lay down clear criteria and rules around hybrid work and also provide best practices for employees.

Below, you'll find a hybrid work policy template you can grab and use for free, plus our top tips on how to build a sensible flexible policy that works well for you and your employees – but first, let’s clarify what hybrid work actually is.

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Defining hybrid work

Hybrid work is a flexible work model that allows employees to divide their work time between the office and their home – or different locations, such as coworking spaces, libraries, or even coffee shops. It recognises that not all tasks require a physical presence in the office, and some can be effectively completed from a distance, especially if you provide your employees with the right communication and project management systems.

By implementing a hybrid work model, you can offer your people the freedom to choose where they work and enable them to strike a better work-life balance. This, in turn, can lead to better job satisfaction and retention – and improved employee well-being.

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Your free hybrid workplace policy template

The template below is yours to use; you can simply copy and paste it and tweak it to fit your organisation's needs. ‍

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Policy overview

Beginning [Date], [Company] will implement a hybrid work model. All employees are eligible for hybrid work. Schedules must fit within one of the models described below and be cleared by your manager.

Please read the entire policy and sign to confirm you have read it. Contact [name and email of contact person] if you have any questions.

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Hybrid work schedule

Hybrid schedules depend on your department; you have flexibility within the hybrid model below. Contact your direct supervisor with questions.

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All departments should book office space for in-office days with Officely.

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‍Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Your manager will discuss with you all relevant key performance indicators and how they might be affected by hybrid work.

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In-office amenities

Employees working at the office more than 3 days a week will have a dedicated desk, parking space, and access to the company gym or childcare services.

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Equipment and software

For all employees, the company will provide:

• Laptop
• Keyboard
• Mouse
• Headset
• Cellphone

Employees working remotely more than 2 days a week will also receive stipends to cover internet costs.

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Compensation and benefits

Compensation might be subject to adjustments if relocating to a different city or area.

Employees will also receive the following additional stipends:

• Gym memberships/related health membership
• Virtual health consults
• Virtual mental health counseling
• Childcare
• [Add more benefits here]

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Communication tools and guidelines

Use the following tools for remote communication:

• Email for weekly updates, updates for clients, delivery of material to clients
• Slack for team-wide communication, client groups (if requested), quick announcements
• Google Meet for meetings, presentations, stand-ups
• Officely for updating your work location (remote or from the office) and booking desks

Prioritise the use of public channels of communication and be respectful of others’ time and show up punctually for meetings.

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Commitment to equal opportunities

We’re committed to providing a similar experience to remote and in-office employees. To ensure everyone has equal access to opportunities, managers must:

• Use public channels to announce new work opportunities and projects
• Review how often employees are promoted with respect to their work preferences

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10 tips for building a successful hybrid and remote work agreement

Below, you’ll find our top tips on how to manage the transition to a hybrid work model – and how to ensure that it works well for you and your team.

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1. Determine eligibility for hybrid work

Before you start building your hybrid policy, define the roles for which hybrid work is possible and those for which it is not.

Here are some examples:

• Roles suitable for hybrid work: Most roles in project management, software development, design, marketing, finance, accounting, and admin
• Roles that require mostly in-office presence: Front desk and customer-facing roles, field staff managers, facility management staff, any role involving physical work

You might still want to offer employees in the second category some flexibility, for example by providing occasional WFH days. You might even have team members from other departments like marketing or finance cover office-based roles like the front desk from time to time to allow for more equitable access to remote work.

If your team has been working remotely but you'd like to switch to a hybrid work schedule, use an employee return-to-work survey to uncover potential concerns.

Make sure to consider resource utilisation and how exactly you'll manage your office space. One of the best ways to do that is with the help of desk booking software.

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2. Define the right hybrid work model and schedule

Hybrid work isn’t one-size-fits-all. 

Your hybrid work model might be remote-first, where employees are allowed to work remotely most of the time, or lean toward more in-office presence.

Because the term "hybrid" can mean so many things, outline the number of remote workdays allowed in your office and the advantages for each preference. For example:

• Remote 1-2 days per week: Because these employees are in the office more frequently, consider offering them a dedicated office or desk and parking space.
• Remote 3-5 days per week: Employees might have to surrender dedicated office desks but will be provided a hot desk or common area to work in the office. They may be eligible for visitor parking.
• Fully remote: These employees don’t have dedicated workspaces and may be eligible for visitor parking. They might visit the office on occasion for a few hours or a day and reserve a hot desk when they do. 

Desk booking software like Officely can make it easy to manage different schedules and give everyone the visibility they need to organise their work – and come to the office when others are there.

If you offer fully remote roles, specify if these roles are based out of specific countries, states, or cities. If you need remote employees to come to the office occasionally for client meetings and events, you might prefer to hire in your city or region.

For employees choosing hybrid work arrangements, specify if they'll set their own flexible schedule or if schedules will be manager-led. Employee-led hybrid work schedules usually provide better results, because employees know best where and how they work best.

Whatever style you choose, define when you'd expect team members to be available for work-related communication. Certain roles like customer support might need to work specific hours, even remotely.

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3. Review employee compensation

Be clear about how an employee’s location and work preference (in-office, remote, hybrid) affect their compensation and benefits, so employees can weigh the pros and cons of their choice.  

For example, if you have 100% remote positions with the option to relocate to another city or country, you might consider adjusting employee salaries to the cost of living – or decide against it. Or you could provide in-office or hybrid workers with a commute allowance.

Remote-first company Buffer has shared their salary calculator publicly, and you might want to use a cost of living calculator when defining salary ranges. However, you need to make sure you're not penalizing employees who opt for a hybrid model or those who choose to work remotely.

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4. Expand wellness and health benefits

Hybrid work offers ample flexibility, but it also has a few downsides. Employees who often work remotely might feel more isolated and some might need additional support to avoid burnout.

Here are some ways to safeguard employee health and mental wellbeing in remote and flexible working arrangements:

• Offer virtual health consultations on platforms like Teladoc and Wellthy and provide access to mental health services like Talkspace and Lyra Health
• Provide a few hours of free mental health counseling in addition to virtual consulting, if they’re not part of your Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs)
• Normalise taking time off not just for vacation but also for mental health and to care for family
• Offer stipends for exclusive in-office perks like childcare and gyms
• Encourage managers to make video optional during some meetings and reduce the number of mandatory calls per week

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5. Make sure you know the legal requirements for hybrid work

Ask your legal counsel or HR department about all local and national laws you should comply with in relation to hybrid work. Explain how you’ll fulfill legal requirements in your flexible work policy.

Here are some questions to get you started:

• Where is your business legally allowed to operate? This might affect the locations from which employees can work remotely.
• Do you need to reimburse employees for home office equipment? In states like California, laws require employers to reimburse employees for office equipment like computers, laptops, and desks. 
• Do you need to reimburse employees for office travel? While daily commutes are generally not reimbursable, for employees who work primarily from home, you might need to reimburse office travel.
• Do you need to pay overtime? Federal US laws require employers to pay overtime if employees work for more than 40 hours in a week, or in some states, more than 8 hours a day. If such laws apply in your country or state, you’ll need to define how you'll track time and whether employees require manager approval to work extra hours.

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6. Implement the right tech to uphold your new policy

The success of your hybrid work policy depends on the tools you use. Hybrid work software like Officely makes desk booking simple – and gives your employees and admin staff visibility into office attendance, making it easier to manage hybrid schedules and resources effectively.

With Officely, employees can easily reserve desks, see who’s in the office, and plan their workdays for better collaboration or focused work, all directly within Slack or Microsoft Teams. 

Other tools you should consider include: 

• Project management platforms like Asana or ClickUp
• Video conferencing software like Zoom, MS Teams, or Google Meet
• Knowledge sharing platforms like Confluence or Notion

For more ideas, check out our article on the best productivity tools for hybrid work.

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7. Set up information security measures for hybrid work

In your office, you're in control of all security measures like firewalls, virtual private networks (VPNs), on-premise servers, data centres, antivirus software, and authorised company equipment. And, while you can replicate most of these measures in a remote setting, your employees might need extra guidance to comply with data security measures.

When drafting your hybrid workplace policy, outline best practices for employees to keep your data safe, like:

• Set strong passwords and update them regularly
• Install security and software updates on a regular basis
• Avoid downloading suspicious, illegal, or unauthorised software
• Block suspicious websites and report any phishing attempts
• Use only work devices for work, and not their personal computers or smartphones
• Report any loss of equipment or information immediately
• Use a VPN as needed

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8. Create clear communication guidelines

Clear guidelines help eliminate communication silos. For hybrid teams, defaulting to remote-first online communication works best because it's equally accessible to in-office and remote employees.

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In your hybrid workplace policy, mention:

• Channels or tools for meetings, quick messages, updates, stand-ups, announcements, and reports
• Expected response time for internal emails, client emails, and Slack messages
• Internal knowledge base tools for looking up company-related information, processes, and policies
• Who to get in touch with for common issues

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9. Track employee performance

In a traditional work environment, time spent in the office was often used as one of the measures of performance and engagement, although we could probably all agree that it's a horribly inaccurate one. In a hybrid workplace, the need for setting clear key performance indicators (KPIs) is even more obvious.

Define what success looks like for different roles. For instance, “Success as a sales manager means contacting X leads per month, a X% of closed deals, and $XX in revenue.”

You can also set goals for employee attendance specially for roles that benefit from in-person collaboration, and use dedicated software like Officely to measure that.

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10. Foster equity between employees working from home or in the office

Proximity bias is one of the most common challenges of hybrid work, or the tendency to favour in-office employees. Team members working from home might miss out on important work-related talks and decisions if they happen in ad hoc meetings or in the hallway.

To provide equal opportunities to all employees, irrespective of the specific hybrid or remote work arrangement they opt for, you might decide to:

• Measure speed of promotion by employees’ work preference to avoid bias
• Announce new work opportunities and challenges using online channels like Slack or email instead of in-person meetings
• Hold virtual ask-me-anything sessions with leadership where employees can voice concerns and ask questions
• Run anonymous employee surveys to gauge employee sentiments
• Make hybrid meetings the norm, so all employees can participate regardless of their location

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The benefits of hybrid work

Hybrid work is a smart way to balance flexibility with productivity. Here’s how embracing a hybrid model can benefit your team and your business.

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Improved work-life balance

By giving employees the freedom to split their time between home and the office, you help them to better manage their personal responsibilities and commitments while staying productive. 

Additionally, you enable them to design their own work environment based on their preferences and needs – and still share time with others in the office whenever they need to work together on specific projects. 

This balance can lead to happier, healthier, and more engaged team members.

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Better collaboration and focus

Hybrid work allows employees to work together in person when it matters most and focus on deep work at home or in dedicated office areas without distractions. Finding the right balance between collaboration and individual work will depend on each person and role, but giving the possibility to switch between the two will help improve teamwork and individual productivity.

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Cost savings for everyone

Hybrid work enables businesses to downsize office space strategically and therefore reduce its associated costs (rent, utilities, and equipment), while employees save time and money on commuting and office lunches. 

Plus, it can also help reduce the environmental impact of your company.

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Steps to implement a hybrid work policy

Now that you have a policy template at your disposal and know what benefits hybrid work can offer, let’s see exactly how you can shift to this model, step by step. 

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1. Assess your company's needs

Before switching to hybrid work and flexible work hours, take the time to assess your company's needs and challenges. 

Consider factors like job roles, team dynamics, and client expectations. Identify potential roadblocks and develop strategies to address them.

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2. Draft the policy

Once you have a clear understanding of your company's needs, it's time to draft your hybrid policy. You can use the template above as your starting point and refine it as necessary. 

Involve HR, managers, and employees in the policy development process and make sure it aligns with both the company’s needs and your team’s preferences. 

Make sure the policy is comprehensive and easy to understand. Clearly define eligibility criteria, expectations, and guidelines for remote and hybrid work. Address issues like scheduling, time tracking, and performance evaluation.

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3. Share the policy with employees

Once the policy is ready, share it with everyone. Be transparent and address any concerns or questions others may have. Provide training and resources to ensure that employees can navigate the hybrid work environment easily. 

Regularly review and update the policy based on feedback and your team’s needs.

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Overcoming challenges in hybrid work arrangements

Now, let’s look into some of the problems you might face and see how you can tackle them. 

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Maintaining team cohesion

One of the biggest challenges of hybrid work is maintaining team cohesion and collaboration and reducing silos. 

Encourage regular team meetings, both in-person and virtually, to build strong relationships. Use collaboration tools to simplify knowledge sharing and manage projects efficiently. 

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Ensuring accountability and productivity

Remote and hybrid work may bring up concerns about accountability and productivity – but empowering employees to take ownership of their work usually yields much better results than micromanaging them.

Define clear expectations, goals, and KPIs for each role, along with metrics to measure performance. Give regular feedback and celebrate wins to keep employees motivated and engaged, and ensure they know what to do whenever they face challenges that might impact their work. 

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Addressing technical issues

Not all remote or hybrid employees will be sufficiently tech-savvy to tackle all technical issues on their own, so ensure that employees have access to IT support when needed. 

To maintain airtight security for your data and systems, you might also consider setting up regular maintenance checks for all company-provided equipment. Encourage employees to use secure internet connections and back up their work regularly.

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Boost your hybrid success with help from Officely 

Hybrid work policies help you build a work environment that's centred around your employees' well-being and work-life balance, which will help you improve productivity and attract top talent.

To implement this successfully, you need the right hybrid work policy template, which you can find above, along with the right software tools. Here's a sample tech stack to get you started:

• Communication platforms such as Slack, Google Meet, or MS Teams
• Productivity and project management apps such as Asana, ClickUp, or Monday.com
• Desk booking software such as Officely

Officely simplifies hybrid work and makes it easier for employees to reserve desks and know the best days to go into the office. Book a free demo to see how easy it can be to build a strong flexible work policy with the right software at hand – and check out Officely’s Complete Guide to Office Management in Flexible Workplaces for more ideas on how to make hybrid work work for everyone. 

Guidelines to Return to Work Safely During Covid-19

Global health agencies like the World Health Organization (WHO) and governmental agencies like Occupational Safety and Health Administration (U.S. and Europe), Center for Disease Control (CDC-U.S.), and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE-UK) have provided guidance for businesses to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace. They include several of these steps in their recommendations.

Ventilation in indoor spaces: Use windows, doors, vents, and mechanical ventilation through ducts and fans to ensure your office spaces have a steady supply of fresh air.

Sanitization of spaces: Clean office spaces and high-touch surfaces like desks, keyboards, elevator buttons, light switches, doorknobs, and sinks once a day. It’s best to both clean and disinfect workspaces with poor ventilation, a large number of people, or people at a high risk of developing Covid-19. Disinfecting involves using chemicals like bleaching agents to clean surfaces, which kills germs on them. If someone has tested positive for Covid-19 within 24 hours, clean and disinfect their workspace, office, and spaces they frequented, like the cafeteria, too.

Use of hand wash, sanitizer, and masks: Equip facilities with ample soap, hand wash, and alcohol-based hand sanitizers (60-90% alcohol), so employees can wash their hands regularly. You’ll also need to mandate wearing face masks (for vaccinated employees, too) when working indoors. Employees working outdoors should also wear masks when they come in close contact with others.

Capacity management: Place employee desks at least 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from each other. Avoid overcrowding of office spaces during lunch hours and breaks. Use multiple work shifts, hybrid work policies, and staggered meal breaks to enable physical distancing in the office.

Health Screening and Support for Ill Workers: Inform workers about common symptoms of Covid-19 like dry cough, shortness of breath, fever, and loss of taste. Encourage workers with any symptoms to self-isolate at home. Reinforce this policy by offering income support programs and quarantine allowances.

Contact tracing: If an employee tests positive for Covid-19, inform your local health authorities and help them with contact tracing. Contact tracing allows you to track and notify anyone who has come in close contact with a person who has tested positive. A close contact is anyone who may have been less than 6 feet (1.8 meters) away from an infected person for more than 15 minutes during a 24-hour period. Help health authorities communicate next steps to close contacts, including quarantine or getting tested.

Vaccination: Encourage employees to get vaccinated against Covid-19. While OSHA (U.S.) had released a temporary emergency standard stating that workplaces with at least 100 employees should either get all their workers vaccinated or ask them to wear a mask and test on a weekly basis for Covid-19, the rule was suspended in January 2022.

Covid-19 Return to Work Checklist for Employers

Before reopening your office, prepare your office by gauging employee sentiment and creating safe procedures.

Use this quick checklist to safeguard your business against Covid-19 as well as common post-pandemic problems like employee resignation and retention.

#1. Run an Employee Return to Work Survey

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Not all of your employees might feel comfortable returning to work, with the threat of the Covid-19 virus still looming. Surveys have shown a strong employee preference to work from home at least a few days a week, even post-pandemic. Before you declare business as usual, send employee return to work surveys to find out if employees are ready to come back to work and what they need to be successful.

We’ve written a detailed guide for creating a return to work survey for employees post Covid-19, and here’s a list of questions to understand employee preferences:

• How comfortable do you feel coming back into the office?
• What are your major concerns about returning?
• Which working arrangements (hybrid, remote, in-office) do you prefer most?
• What are your major concerns about hybrid work?
• How many days a week would you like to come to the office? Which days and for how long?
• Which activities will you use the office for (collaborative, deep work, casual brainstorming)?

#2. Prepare Your Office and Employees for Reopening Safely

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Adopting a few important tools and practices that have helped mitigate the disease globally will help you to implement Covid-19 guidelines for your workplace.

• Run a workplace assessment to identify areas with poor ventilation and a high density of workers. Clean and disinfect these spaces and improve air supply in these areas, if possible.
• Implement return to work in phases instead of all at once. Start with a partial office reopening, with workers who have minimal personal risk factors (age, medical conditions, pregnancy) and low exposure risk. These kinds of work plans, including staggered shift times and breaks, have been successful globally in minimizing exposure.
• Place posters throughout the office reminding employees to wear masks and wash their hands.
• Train all employees about safe reopening practices like wearing masks, social distancing, and quarantine.
• Use desk booking software to manage workplace capacity and employee schedules. Tools like Officely let you know who used what spaces on which days, allowing for better contact tracing.
• Conduct Covid-19 symptom surveys using tools like Officely, which sends a daily health survey to employees before they check in to work.
• Promote vaccination by providing employees with paid time off to recover from any side effects.

#3. Monitor Compliance For Your Return to Work Guidelines

To prevent business closure due to an outbreak of Covid-19 in your workplace, look for ways to reinforce workplace guidelines and rules.

From conversations on our Slack community, Hybrid Heroes, we’ve found managing Covid-19-related work takes up much of existing people ops and human resources teams’ time. To avoid overworking your HR team, consider assigning Covid-related work to specific team members or consultants to monitor compliance and implementation.

If your team has less than 50 employees, assign one or two people to monitor the implementation of Covid-19 related protocols and stocking of supplies like sanitizers and masks. Large, global companies might also use special consultants like Workbench to plan and implement Covid-19 related guidelines and ensure employees have the necessary supplies and support.

Return to Work Policies to Review Before You Reopen

While you may have existing policies related to paid leave or health and fitness, you may need to adjust these to meet Covid-19-related health issues and changing employee preferences.

This is not an exhaustive list of policies to review, but it should be a good starting point as you plan your office reopening.

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Work from home/hybrid work policy

If most of your employees support hybrid work, you’ll need a hybrid work policy that outlines office attendance requirements, reimbursements for remote work, and how you’ll ensure equitability in a hybrid environment.

Here are key points to include in a hybrid work policy:

• Hybrid work model: State how many days a week employees are expected to come into the office.
• Hybrid work schedule: Mention if employees are allowed to choose their work-from-home days or if they need to follow a manager-led hybrid work schedule.
• Reimbursements: Clarify if employees will be reimbursed for home office equipment and the amount of reimbursement.
• Code of conduct: State rules around acceptable employee behavior like language, dress code, and actions during online interactions like meetings and happy hours.
• Equitability: Explain how you’ll ensure equal opportunities and experiences for remote and in-office employees. For instance, mandate that new work opportunities be posted on public online forums rather than announced in-office.  

Wellness and health

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Whether you’re adopting a long-term hybrid work policy or temporary staggered office schedules — or anything in between— remote work can be lonely. Your employees may feel isolated or depressed. To combat these side effects of working from home, add employee benefits related to mental health, along with perks like healthcare and dental stipends.

Here are some ideas to safeguard the mental health of your employees:

Mental health apps for remote employees

• Access to therapy: Provide employees with access to online therapy services like Talkspace or offer a stipend for the same.
• Mental health days: Encourage employees to take time off to care for their mental health. Ask managers to set an example by taking days off when they need to.
• Team bonding events: Organize hybrid or virtual team days and deliver lunches to remote employees. Services like Lunchpool make this easy.
• Extended time off: Allow employees time to recharge by offering long weekends after the team wraps up a challenging project.

Paid sick leave

Paid sick leave policies encourage ill workers to stay at home, which prevents the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace.

WHO recommends sick leave provisions that encourage accommodations for the pandemic.

• Sickness benefits to ill workers as well as caregivers: The ILO Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Recommendation, 1969 suggests employers should provide sickness benefits to employees who are in quarantine or have to care for a sick family member, cannot report to work, and cannot work remotely.
• Sick leave for employees who have been exposed: Provide sick leave to employees who recently came in close contact with a Covid-19 patient and need to self-isolate.
• Paid leave for contract and part-time workers: Extend sick leave benefits to contract and part-time workers, too, as they could spread the virus in your workplace.

Workspace Management Streamlines Return to Work Plans

One of the key recommendations of the pandemic has been to physically and socially distance. It’s also a good way to stop the spread of Covid-19 in your workplace. Physical distancing calls for effective workspace management at all times — during meetings, lunch hours, and work events.

One of the easiest ways to manage your office capacity is to use workspace management software that lets you automatically limit the number of people who come into your office each day and allow employees to book office spaces and desks in advance.

Additionally, workspace management software like Officely is equipped with features like contact tracing and health screening — also important measures to contain Covid-19 in the workplace.

To help you choose, we've identified eight factors to consider when choosing workspace management software for your business.