As a freelance worker for 20+ years, I’ve watched the work-from-home debate with an odd feeling of déjà vu. The challenges of hybrid work—communication gaps, boundary issues, meeting equity—aren’t new to freelancers. We’ve been solving for decades.
What feels revolutionary to companies is business-as-usual for independent workers. We’ve long embraced remote work as a perk or exception, even when it was viewed as less legitimate by the general workforce.
Now everyone’s catching up fast. To the challenges as well as the perks. So, here a few notes from an old-timer:
Recognize and work with the challenges
I learned early what I lose out on by not being in the room. The hallway conversations. The decisions made over lunch that get formalized later in email. The power of overhearing.
If it feels like work to overcome these, it is. Remote workers operate with an information disadvantage, and it’s exhausting to compensate for it. You need to over-communicate and schedule check-ins that in-office workers handle casually.
Hybrid meetings are where the inequality becomes most obvious. In-room participants can forget remote people exist. If you’ve ever felt left out watching the people in the room fill up their coffee during breaks, you know what I mean.
The good news is that these practices can become routine, and if you take the lead, you’ll show that a hybrid worker is not an absent one. Staying visible and informed is possible with effort.
The flipside: leaving work behind
While hybrid workers may struggle to seem like they’re in the room, it’s equally challenging to step out after hours. I learned to handle this early on by setting some boundaries for myself: I don’t answer email before 9:00 AM or after 6:00 PM. I answer my phone with an at-work greeting during work hours (Hello, Sue speaking). I love having a separate space for work so that I can leave it behind at the end of the day.
Of course, I also show myself to be a team player by ignoring my own rules when all hands are on deck. Just like I would in a regular office situation.
Hybrids lead the way
One way that I try to lead as a hybrid worker is staying on top of technology I’m expected to use. I ensure that my video setup matches that of most organizations. I often recommend tools that I find useful, based on the fact that I have multiple clients with different setups that work better than others. I pick up extra skills like project management and AI knowledge so I’m not both hybrid and falling behind. Now that the world is moving in a hybrid direction, I’m quick to share tips like these to help show that we can help to make hybrid work not only equal but even preferable for its balancing effect. If we all contribute, this lifestyle benefit that I discovered many years ago can be a benefit to all.
What’s your biggest hybrid work challenge right now?
I also share these blog posts on LinkedIn – visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/sbowness/ to connect with me there. Or hire me to help your organization navigate remote work communication challenges!
