In Pictures: Try these out to ease the stress out of hybrid working

Offices are opening to full or near-full capacities, even as several employers make allowances for hybrid working way. Until such time the world can call a closure on the COVID-19, these flexible working arrangements will be part of the corporate landscape.

Based on feedback from business and HR consultants, new recruits too want their employers to grant them the work-from-anywhere rights. After a year and more of work-from-home, clearly, everyone is not up to going to the way things were pre-pandemic.

Some businesses who have transitioned to a remote workforce still feel like something is missing. Despite the comfort of operating from the familiar surroundings of home, many employees started feeling disconnected. Stress levels built up and issues of mental health were coming to the surface. A point was reached when morale clearly dipped, and it was telling on organizational results.

In the past, company culture was built through face-to-face contact. While not all elements of an in-office experience can be replicated in a remote world, there are several things companies can do to sustain an organizational culture in the era of remote work.

An all-day Google Hangout or Teams channel, where people can come and go when they need a break from work and want to socialise, promotes informal networking and bonding.

Giving away weekly or monthly prizes (gift cards, chocolates) to high performers and those who go the extra mile can help with building morale and enthusiasm.

Tools like Slack can create remote communities, where employees can share their interests and experiences. One way could be a wellness channel, where team members can share mindfulness tips, at-home workouts and new recipes. Another is a movie and TV show focused platform, where they can chat about what they’re watching, and recommend shows and films to each other.

There are other ways that give a new definition to remote working. In October 2020, Dubai launched a programme that will allow remote working professionals to live in Dubai while continuing to serve their employers in their home country. The move provides remote workers – and their families - the opportunity to re-locate, on an annual basis, to enjoy a safe and quality life and work environment backed up by a strong digital infrastructure for seamless connectivity.

In a report published earlier this year, the online platform for on-demand housing Nestpick revealed the best cities worldwide to live and work remotely from home. Dubai was ranked in second place, while Melbourne topped the list for digital nomads out of 75 countries. These cities were then analysed on three broad categories, including costs and infrastructure, legislation and freedoms, livability, which made them attractive places to both relocate to and work remotely from.

The Work-from-Anywhere Index also used data in their study to determine the cities that are not only the most attractive to foreign-employed workers, but also have the infrastructure and legislation to make it easy for them to live and work there. The resulting index offers insight into a broad range of factors encompassing costs, infrastructure, legislation and livability to reveal the cities best prepared to attract this new breed of work-from-anywhere resident.