With more than two thirds of Australians working virtually or hybrid, the gains of flexibility and freedom are often overshadowed by the reality of high attrition rates, isolation and burnout.

In the past year, 1 in 8 Australians have visited their GP with mental health concerns, and nearly 60 per cent of managers do not believe their team is achieving its potential.

Working with thousands of teams globally, I’ve seen a familiar story emerging. A remote team I was consulting with conducted a team health check and were discussing the results when one senior female executive commented: “it feels lonely to be in this team”.

That comment took courage but the impact for the team was dramatic. Previously focused on their individual tasks, the team now consciously planned on how to connect more and to share their goals and challenges with each other – not just with this woman but in a broader, more collective way. Six months later, their team health had risen by 20 per cent and their performance was standout.

Team health impacts an individual’s health – each of them were now functioning in a better way, including outside of work.

In early 2022, Squadify, a technology platform that gives teams the ability to improve performance and dynamics, partnered with the London School of Economics to conduct research. The goal: to review global data from more than 2600 teams and leader interviews to understand how hybrid working (a combination of working in the office and working from home) is different and what leaders and teams can do to thrive in this new environment.

The research shows that individual employees as well as companies can successfully navigate the opportunities and challenges of hybrid working, by consciously shifting the focus from ‘where’ we should work to ‘how’ we can best thrive and perform together.

Here are the key findings:

Hybrid working makes teamwork much more important

Prior to the pandemic, being in the office created a sense of teamwork.

Hybrid working requires us to be much more intentional and conscious of what creates that teamwork to be successful. Thriving hybrid teams focus on what it takes to be high-performing.

Anton McKernan, general manager of Australasia’s largest mattress and foam manufacturer The Comfort Group, has adopted the hybrid working model and attributes its success.

“Our teams have started having great conversations about how they work together and what they can do to improve. It’s given us better alignment and made us feel like we were working as a united force,” he said.

Hybrid working makes us hungry to learn together

The greatest difference in importance scores between hybrid teams and face-to-face teams was found in the questions relating to building a learning, ‘no blame’ culture.

The shift to hybrid working has created a new openness to experimentation, where the voices, opinions and learnings of team members can be more openly shared, wherever they work.

Building on this capability enables teams, and the people within them, to develop greater innovation superpowers.

Hybrid teams get the task done

If you’re part of a hybrid team, pat yourself on the back. Hybrid teams report a greater focus on getting tasks achieved.

A recent Stanford University study also found that working from home increases productivity by 13 per cent.

Hybrid working doesn’t impact our ability to deliver, but ensuring a ‘big picture’ approach of how we need to collaborate with our colleagues to achieve strategic goals is really important.

How to make hybrid working work for you

The transition to hybrid working is no longer about scheduling the days in the office. In 2023, it will be about ‘how’ we work better together.

Squadify’s research suggests what to focus on and some ‘hybrid hacks’ that can help you at work:

1. Focus on building relationships within and outside your team

Squadify interviewed leaders across a broad range of industries and countries, but the message was truly aligned.

Hybrid working can pull us apart, so a new set of skills is required to bring people together through teams. Showing interest in others creates better mutual understanding and leads to higher levels of trust.

Hybrid hack: Ask more quality questions that help others to open up and gives insight into how best to support them. E.g. What are your strengths here? What are your concerns? Where do you need help?

2. Increase your powers of observation

In virtual settings, it’s often hard to pick up on body language. Practice becoming ‘attuned’ to the people in your team and communicate in a way that works for them. Watch out for the micro-misunderstandings that can happen in virtual communications and address them quickly.

Hybrid hack: Don’t just send communication out and hope! Check for their understanding by asking questions and dig deeper for any issues.

3. Asynchronous technology can be your friend in hybrid working

Hybrid workers need to become masters of tech. Ensure you leverage the right platform for each kind of connection, avoid Zoom fatigue, and help each other to contribute and connect.

Hybrid hack: Use asynchronous video apps to communicate ideas to your team and whiteboards and virtual Post-it notes to give everyone a voice in discussions.

I believe strong, effective teams can exist anywhere. The key is that wherever they work they have a deliberate focus on how they collaborate to do that work.

Team leaders can use this research to improve connection and performance and make 2023 their best year yet.