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HR Chat Room

The HR Chat Room provides our listeners with our thoughts on a range of people management topics. The podcast is designed to be informal and easy to listen to and we hope that our listeners will go away with some useful tips and "food for thought" in relation to people management. The podcast is brought to you by Jen Brown of J7 Evolve and Alison Bell of Bell HR. In each episode we aim to bring you practical and helpful information for people managers, business owners and people who are managed! We hope that you find these podcasts interesting in the context of your work.We would encourage you to connect with us via Linked-in and if you have feedback on our podcasts or if you would like us to cover any specific topics in the future please let us know.

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HR Chat Room

Workplace Evolution - What different people need from work

June 21, 2024 • Alison Bell & Jen Brown

In this episode, Alison Bell from Bell HR and Jennifer Brown from J7 Evolve Limited discuss the various preferences people have for working from home, in an office, or in a hybrid model, and how these preferences can change over time.

Key Points:

1. The pandemic accelerated the shift towards flexible and hybrid working, proving that remote work is possible for many jobs.

2. People have a wide range of preferences for their work environment, and these preferences can change depending on their life circumstances and personality.

3. Some people thrive on the social interaction and activity of working in an office, while others prefer the control and efficiency of working from home.

4. Managers and employers should have open, honest conversations with employees to understand their individual needs and preferences, and try to accommodate them as much as possible.

5. Working remotely requires more deliberate effort from managers to ensure effective communication, collaboration, and productivity.

Tips for Managers:

1. Avoid making assumptions about what works best for each employee; instead, have conversations to understand their individual needs and preferences.

2. Be prepared to accommodate different working styles and preferences, as much as is reasonable and feasible for the work that needs to be done.

3. Plan for regular in-person collaboration and creativity sessions, as these can be more challenging to facilitate in a remote or hybrid work environment.

4. Be conscious and deliberate about engaging with remote employees, providing clear expectations, tracking performance, and giving feedback.

5. Consider the benefits of neurodiversity in the workplace and create an environment that accommodates different ways of thinking and approaches to work.

For more information on neurodiversity in the workplace, check out the article mentioned in the show notes: "Neurodiversity can be a workplace strength if we make room for it" from The Conversation (2021).

https://theconversation.com/neurodiversity-can-be-a-workplace-strength-if-we-make-room-for-it-164859

Contact Information:

Alison Bell of Bell HR: https://www.bellhrconsulting.co.uk or on linked in https://www.linkedin.com/in/alison-bell-a726a824/

Jen Brown: J7 Evolve Limited, Home - J7 Evolve and connect on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/in/j7evolve.