Hybrid working is about enabling a seamless blend of on-site and remote working – by providing the tools and technologies that allow people to switch easily between working from the office, and working from their preferred remote location, with access to all the documents and technology they need. Central to this approach is enabling smooth interaction between those working onsite and those working remotely, with unified communication and collaboration technologies in the spotlight.

The core and flex approach is about providing an onsite office hub space for the core activities and workers that will always need to be office-based, while also providing flexible space, both on- and offsite, for those whose work makes them more nomadic. This can involve hot desks and touchdown spaces, as well as leveraging coworking space to allow the company to alter the amount of additional space it uses over time.

Coworking spaces are about renting out space and facilities to companies that need extreme flexibility in their office space provision. This includes small companies and start-ups that aren’t ready to invest in their own offices yet, as well as larger companies that want to build additional flexibility into their space provision (see ‘Core and flex’). Coworking spaces are feature-rich, and generally offer short contracts and a variety of options, from virtual offices and hot desks, to meeting rooms and project spaces.

For some companies, the traditional office model still works well for them. Businesses that require a lot of specialist onsite technology, hard copy paper files and documents, or a high degree of face-to-face collaboration will often opt for this approach. It can also be the case that culturally some businesses benefit from the more traditional approach.

For some organisations, moving to largely, or even fully remote, offers a golden opportunity to save on costly property expenses, while also building in a high degree of flexibility and agility to the business. It also allows them to cast the net wider in the search for talent, if the organisation can offer fully remote roles. This style of working relies heavily on communication and collaboration technology, and also requires a high degree of autonomy from its people, which can be a double-edged sword.

For businesses that have moved to working in a hybrid, partially remote way (which many have recently), there is still a key role played by the office in cementing the company culture, vision and shared values, and setting the direction for the business. When employees are able to choose when and indeed whether to work onsite, the office needs to incorporate standout features that make it a desirable destination venue for workers.

Any time, any place, anywhere. Martini working is the philosophy that drives the move towards agile, location-independent working. Virtual communication, collaboration and file sharing are key to this approach to work, as well as the ability to work across different devices. The ability to plug in and get to work in any place, at any time, is the goal of this style of working.