Despite historical evidence showing that hybrid work improves productivity and saves companies money, it took a global health crisis for office workers to get a serious shot at flexible work arrangements. Surveys show that 42% of workers now have the option to hybrid work, as opposed to just 32% before the pandemic.

But just because people are hybrid working, it doesn't mean that companies have got hybrid work right. While employees prefer to work remotely, there's also a consensus that some sort of in-person connection between co-workers is crucial. Even Slack – a company that enabled and hugely benefited from remote working – requires employees to meet their teams in person on occasion. But it's also made co-founder Cal Henderson reflect deeply on what offices are good for and what habits need to be broken.

‘The default is still people going into an office and sitting down at their desks to do individual work – which makes no sense at all,’ he says.

We sat down with Cal to hear about how one remote-oriented company is handling hybrid work – and what companies need to invest in to make hybrid work work for employees in the long run.

Ditch the video calls

Slack found that 88% of people in the UK are in the office at least one day a week, only to spend almost two hours on video calls. Instead, businesses should take an audit of what in-person activities have real value. ‘We don't yet have the technology to fully replace the experience of getting everyone together around a table or whiteboard,’ says Cal. For small businesses, activities like in-person brainstorming and strategic planning can be critical. For junior employees and new joiners, sitting in on meetings to learn how colleagues navigate conversations with suppliers or customers is crucial. Leaders have a responsibility to set the office culture around remote work (which means that if you order people into the office, you better be there yourself).

‘At Slack, we set a policy that executives can only come in for a maximum of three days a week to set the right example and help ensure we reduce or eliminate proximity bias where possible,’ says Cal.

Renovate the digital HQ

From free lunches to living moss walls, there's been a focus on making the office an attractive place to return to. But attention must now be on improving the digital workplace. ‘If you can save someone from opening and switching between 10 different software programs to locate information, it makes a huge difference to productivity and the quality and speed of decisions over time,’ says Cal.

Think about your company's online tools as the architecture that makes up the digital HQ – essentially, the digital halls and meeting rooms that people navigate to get their jobs done. While it might be tempting to invest in various shiny new tools, a better investment might be platforms that serve multiple functions. And be sure to get employee input on pain points before you invest – there's much to be learned from how people already interact with a shared digital space.

Cut the meetings

Some 24% of UK workers report regularly wasting 30 minutes in scheduled video meetings that could have been a quick chat. To combat digital fatigue and claw back minutes for deep work and collaboration, snowballing meeting culture has to be nipped in the bud.

Slack wasn't exempt from this syndrome, but Huddle, its instant-voice communication function, sparked an internal step change. It was a hit with users, too, becoming the fastest-adopted feature in the company's history. ‘On average, each Huddle lasts about 10 minutes and is without the structure or preparedness of a meeting,’ says Cal. ‘They're being used a lot more casually, resulting in fewer meetings and more ad-hoc quick chats.’

Do you have a friend whose business needs some help with the state of the economy right now? Sign up for Thrive here.

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With a looming recession and increasing prices at the back of many shoppers' minds, this holiday season looks to be yet another season of uncertainty. As a result, nearly half of people surveyed by consulting firm Gartner are looking to shop early this holiday season, with many more turning to online shopping than in 2021. With that in mind, here are some tips from retail experts on how you can still make this season sing.

01. Try extending Black Friday.

‘Black Friday is a huge opportunity for pre-Christmas sales. It's starting to take emphasis away from the traditional Boxing Day and end-of-season promotions. To maximize sales, start Black Friday offers a little earlier this year, probably mid-November as opposed to the end of November. Start out with a good offer, instead of slowly increasing discounts, which is a more traditional approach. This will ensure you capture customers at the outset before they get discount fatigue or have spent all of their cash.’ – Ruth Malton, founder of fashion retail consultancy RJM WORKS.

02. Focus on existing customers over acquisition.

‘It's unlikely that shoppers will be taking risks on new brands and shops this season. They want something familiar, reliable and as “no-fail” as they can get. It's safe to say they'll stick with what they know. This is an opportunity for small businesses to pull back on acquisition marketing and reallocate some of those resources – cash, offers and energy – to retention. This could be turning intro offers into VIP rewards, offering gift wrap or free and fast shipping.’ – Janine Mulone, founder of Feel Good Retail.

03. Don't let customers abandon their carts.

‘You should have strong automatic, triggered emails in place such as abandoned cart, abandoned browse, post-purchase and customer win-back. Get your triggered emails in a good place and then send regular newsletters out to keep you top of mind.’ – Hannah Spicer, marketing consultant.

04. Keep your eye on your website.

‘Make sure you're perfectly poised to take full advantage of every last selling opportunity. Check your website weekly, if not daily, to make sure that all basic functionality is working on both desktop and mobile. Pre-plan as much as you can in advance so you can be fully focused on selling and delighting your customers during peak periods.’ – Catherine Erdly, founder of The Resilient Retail Club.