Hybrid Work At Home Is Here to Stay

Contributing Author: Gary Rubin

Many of us have experienced a fundamental change in our business operations in 2020.  We were forced to, and for the most part, started to become comfortable with our “work from home” arrangements.  A leading professional services firm recently published its findings from a survey on this matter.  With over 500 global responses, a few things stood out.

• The two most common reasons individuals are hesitant to return to the office remain the need to balance family responsibilities and a concern about catching Covid-19 due to the actions of others.
• Secondly, given the option, individuals aren’t seeing a return to the office in their foreseeable future (2-3 months).

It is our experience that most companies have taken a thoughtful approach to reopening office spaces.  Where local conditions and mandates allow, they prepare detailed reopening plans and then seek frank, open feedback from employees.  This is not a one-time effort.   Successful companies evaluate office status on an ongoing basis.

Safety has to be a primary concern. However, even if an office environment has been converted into a safe space, companies still need to recognize that many of their employees will still need to balance their family needs and may require an ability to work from home.

We have not seen the significant drop in efficiency that was expected when the stay at home orders began.  Through the use of new technology, the inherent flexibility almost all humans exhibit, have proven that knowledge workers can overcome this new challenge.

In short, we expect that the new hybrid approach is here to stay.

Gary Rubin  

CFO Simplified

With over 30 years of accounting and financial expertise, Gary excels by providing advice and partnership to an organization’s CEO and Board.  Gary has been consulting since 2016, Clients included CDW, Ryerson, Orion Lighting and Accretive Health.  Gary coordinated the company’s internal efforts with public accountants, counsel, and investment bankers to co-lead Accretive Health’s successful $1.2 billion initial public offering on NYSE.

Beginning his career with ten years at Deloitte, a Big 4 public accounting firm, he went on to be the CFO for multiple mid-sized companies in private equity, public, and entrepreneurial environments.

Outside of business, Gary enjoys scuba diving, science fiction and watching classic Hollywood movies with his wife, Sandra.