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With 43% of employees saying they won’t return to a 9-5 office schedule, leaders who learn to build a new hybrid environment combining flexibility and structure will meet the challenges of the future.With COVID-19 vaccinations underway around the world, countries are lifting restrictions and companies are developing roadmaps for what the return to work looks like. As 43% of employees say there is no going back to a traditional 9-5 mode [1], many business leaders are evaluating a new hybrid model that includes both remote and in-office work.Ideally, hybrid work involves the best of both worlds, combining sociability and structure with flexibility and autonomy. Kissflow, a provider of digital workplace services with offices in the U.S. and India, held organization-wide feedback sessions which led to a hybrid model consisting of three weeks of working from anywhere and one week of office-based work.[2] The UK offices of accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers took a slightly different approach with its 22,000 staffers, splitting the week between their home and office with the expectation that employees spend 40-60% of their time with colleagues.[3] Time will tell whether these trial configurations will be successful. But leaders are fully aware that they need to work harder than ever to ensure that expectations are clear and opportunities for collaboration and community building are abundant.Here are four steps your organization can take to develop a playbook for remote work success.Identify roles suitable for remote workAs the pandemic continues, one thing is clear: most employees value the flexibility, productivity and work-life balance they’ve experienced with remote work– and don’t want to lose it. But not every role is a good fit for work-from-home. For example, many workers in healthcare and educational organizations as well as those within the retail and hospitality industries need to be present onsite. Organizational roles fall into a framework of suitability for remote work [1] from manufacturing and technician positions that require physical presence to customer service and marketing, which can easily adapt to remote.Leaders need to carefully examine each role to decide which ones are best suited to continue off-site and only move ahead with a hybrid work environment if an optimal number of roles can work remotely.Define clear expectations and benefitsThe conventional work schedule – 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., five days a week – may be shifting for now, but what, exactly, is the new norm? As businesses scramble to figure out whether they want to incorporate a 3-2-2 model (i.e., three days in the office, two days working remotely and two rest days) or another form, leaders need to set expectations around performance outcomes, team milestones and deliverables that consider team members’ flexible schedules and time zones.Remote work has also escalated the need for employee development, as greater distance and fewer face-to-face interactions heighten the need for stronger communications and morale-building. Employers and workers would benefit greatly from on-demand virtual coaching that creates a culture of resilience and helps build community.Prepare for potential pitfallsThe challenges inherent in transitioning to a hybrid model are on full display at Apple, where employees are currently battling with leadership about remote work policies and timing for the return to the office. Common hybrid work issues that organizations like Apple are dealing with include employee engagement, sustaining culture, ensuring well-being, IT security challenges as well as team building and recruiting.[4]Prudential Financial is also working with its 42,000 employees to manage remote work expectations, including ensuring that all staffers opt for Mondays and Fridays as their work-from-home days. The company has been redesigning its offices to repurpose conference and collaboration spaces to further encourage employee engagement. Rob Falzon, Prudential’s Vice Chair, also insists that video capabilities should be extended throughout the offices so remote team members don’t feel left out.[5]Another pitfall to consider is the gender divide that a hybrid work environment has the potential to create. If businesses set up a schedule to allow remote work, but do not cap the number of days employees come into the office, they could create a system that hurts women and impacts diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This is mainly because, statistically, women are more likely to prefer remote work to help them balance childcare responsibilities.[6] Remote work will contribute positively towards leveling the workforce playing field for men and women – but only if every voice is heard – whether it’s in the office or via a video call, according to Annette Polaszewski, CEO of Interprefy, a fully remote software company where women make up a slight majority.[7]Provide support structuresAside from the many benefits of remote work, employees cite the top challenges as managing distractions, loneliness, collaboration and communication.[8] That’s why organizations need to make sure they evaluate and update HR and IT processes carefully and frequently for long-term success. HR leaders should lead the development of innovative strategies, including video chat software, phone systems, messaging channels like Slack or an intranet channel. The key is finding that delicate balance between radio silence and constantly reaching out to employees with texts and emails. Hybrid work environments will not be sustainable without investments in collaboration software, such as document sharing portals and more information security controls.All the state-of-the-art tools won’t help if organizations don’t provide leadership training opportunities that help managers empower employees to continue skill-building and career development, no matter where their office is located. Learn more about how ManpowerGroup Talent Solutions can help your organization deploy a global talent strategy and a future-ready hybrid work environment.[1]Work, Reimagined: ManpowerGroup Research Reveals What Workers Want Post COVID-19, August 2020[2]https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20200824-why-the-future-of-work-might-be-hybrid[3]https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jun/18/office-hybrid-or-home-businesses-ponder-future-of-work[4]Everest Group – Future of Work Series – Where will work be done, 2021[5]https://www.villageworkspaces.com/companies-struggle-with-hybrid-work-plans/[6]https://www.axios.com/the-gender-divide-remote-work-men-women-childcare-4fc29dba-4e1c-4e96-9cf3-64db61ba23e5.html[7]https://www.c-mw.net/how-remote-working-is-helping-balance-the-gender-inequality-scales/[8]https://www.statista.com/statistics/1111401/challenges-of-working-remote-2020/

Among the various core ingredients of talent and career success, few personal qualities have received more attention in the past decade than emotional intelligence (EQ), the ability to identify and manage your own and others’ emotions. Importantly, unlike most of the competencies that make it into the HR zeitgeist of buzzwords, EQ is no fad.In fact, thousands of academic studies have demonstrated the predictive power of scientific EQ assessments vis-à-vis job performance, leadership potential, entrepreneurship and employability. Moreover, the importance of EQ has been highlighted beyond work-related settings, as higher scores have been associated with relationship success, mental and physical health, and happiness.All this is good news for people with higher EQ. But what can those with lower scores do to improve their intrapersonal and interpersonal skills? Is it possible to increase your own and others’ EQ beyond its natural levels? While Goleman and other popular writers argue that (unlike IQ) EQ is malleable and trainable, EQ is really just a combination of personality traits. Accordingly, it is not set in stone; it is largely heritable, shaped by childhood experiences, and fairly stable over time.This does not mean that the effort put toward sculpting emotionally intelligent behaviors is a waste of time. It simply means that focus and dedication are required. The same goes for helping others to act with EQ when they are not naturally inclined to do so. Here are five critical steps for developing EQ:Turn self-deception into self-awarenessPersonality, and thereby EQ, is composed of two parts: identity (how we see ourselves) and reputation (how others see us). For most people there is a disparity between identity and reputation that can cause them to ignore feedback and derail. Real self-awareness is about achieving a realistic view of one’s strengths and weaknesses and of how those strengths and weaknesses compare to others’. For instance, most people rate their own EQ highly, yet only a minority of those individuals will be rated as emotionally intelligent by others. Turning self-deception into self-awareness will not happen without accurate feedback, the kind that comes from data-based assessments such as a valid personality tests or 360-degree feedback surveys. Such tools are fundamental to help us uncover EQ-related blind spots, not least because other people are generally too polite to give us negative feedback.Turn self-focus into other-focus Paying due attention to others is tantamount to career success. But for those with lower levels of EQ, it’s difficult to see things from others’ perspectives, especially when there is no clear right or wrong way forward. Developing an other-centric approach starts with a basic appreciation and acknowledgement of team members’ individual strengths, weaknesses, and beliefs. Brief but frequent discussions with team members will lead to a more thorough understanding of how to motivate and influence others. Such conversations should inspire ways to create opportunities for collaboration, teamwork, and external networking.Be more rewarding to deal withPeople who are more employable and successful in their career tend to be seen as more rewarding to deal with. Rewarding people tend to be cooperative, friendly, trusting and unselfish. Unrewarding individuals tend to be more guarded and critical; they are willing to speak their minds and disagree openly but can develop a reputation for being argumentative, pessimistic, and confrontational. Although this reputation helps enforce high standards, it’s only a matter of time before it erodes relationships and the support for initiatives that accompany them. It’s important that these individuals ensure an appropriate level of interpersonal contact before tasking someone or asking them for help. Proactively and frequently sharing knowledge and resources without an expectation for reciprocity will go a long way.Control your temper tantrumsPassion and intense enthusiasm can easily cross the line to become moodiness and outright excitability when the pressure’s on. Nobody likes a crybaby. And in the business world, those who become particularly disappointed or discouraged when unanticipated issues arise are viewed as undeserving of a seat at the grown-ups’ table. If you’re one of many people who suffer from too much emotional transparency, reflect on which situations tend to trigger feelings of anger or frustration and monitor your tendency to overreact in the face of setbacks. For example, if you wake up to a bunch of annoying emails, don’t respond immediately — wait until you have time to calm down. Likewise, if someone makes an irritating comment during a meeting, control your reaction and keep calm. While you cannot go from being Woody Allen to being the Dalai Lama, you can avoid stressful situations and inhibit your volatile reactions by detecting your triggers. Start working on tactics that help you become aware of your emotions in real time, not only in terms of how you experience them, but, more important, in terms of how they are being experienced by others.Display humility, even if it’s fakeSometimes it can feel like you’re working on an island managed by six-year-olds. But if you’re the type of person who often thinks, “I’m surrounded by idiots,” then it’s likely that your self-assured behaviors are seen as being arrogant, forceful, and incapable of admitting mistakes. Climbing the organizational ladder requires an extraordinary degree of self-belief, which, up to a certain point, is seen as inspirational. However, the most-effective leaders are the ones who don’t seem to believe their own hype, for they come across as humble. Striking a healthy balance between assertiveness and modesty, demonstrating receptiveness to feedback and the ability to admit one’s mistakes, is one of the most difficult tasks to master. When things go wrong, team members seek confident leadership, but they also hope to be supported and taught with humility as they work to improve the situation. To develop this component of EQ, it is sometimes necessary to fake confidence, and it’s even more important to fake humility. We live in a world that rewards people for hiding their insecurities, but the truth is that it is much more important to hide one’s arrogance. That means swallowing one’s pride, picking and choosing battles, and looking for opportunities to recognize others, even if you feel you are right and others are wrong.While the above recommendations may be hard to follow all the time, you will still benefit if you can adopt them some of the time. Much as with other coaching interventions, the goal here is not to change your personality but to replace counterproductive behaviors with more-adaptive actions — to build new habits that replace toxic tendencies and improve how others perceive you. This is why, when coaching works, it invalidates the results of a personality test: Your default predispositions are no longer evidenced in your behaviors.