What’s the Optimal Workplace for Your Organization? | Harvard Business Review

Many employers continue to decide whether in-person, hybrid, or remote work options will work best for their organizations. What makes these decisions difficult are the myriad factors to consider, such as what workers prefer and what organizations feel they need to drive performance. This article provides firms with a framework for identifying which of four work models is optimal for their knowledge-driven organization. For organizations to derive the best model, the authors suggest answering two questions: 1) What is our strategy for future growth (e.g., innovation, efficiency), and 2) What is the size of the organization we need right now? The size component is vital since it can present challenges for coordinating work activities at scale. Using the two dimensions (strategy and size), four work models are represented by a 2×2 illustration. The models include 1) stand-alone office or campus, 2) hybrid with flexible space, 3) coworking environment and 4) fully remote. The benefits and tradeoffs of each model are discussed. While not mentioned in the article, firms should also evaluate which type of work tasks and activities can be performed remotely without a loss of productivity. Against this backdrop, I am resharing a McKinsey article that analyzes over 2,000 work activities in more than 800 occupations to determine which activities and occupations have the greatest potential for remote work.