The Hidden Costs of Hybrid Work - And How We Can Fix Them

Hybrid work arrangements promise the best of both worlds: the flexibility of remote work combined with the collaboration and connection of office-based working. Yet, many organisations are finding that this “compromise” model is not delivering the productivity, innovation, or culture they hoped for. 

Evidence from recent studies and workplace surveys revealed that hybrid work arrangements often struggle to achieve their intended benefits. Why is this? Recent analysis by Peter Cappelli and Ranya Nehmeh  published in Harvard Business Review gives some indicators as to why this is happening - with some ideas for how managers and leaders can turn things around.

What Are The Problems? 

1. Knowledge Transfer and Onboarding Failures

New employees thrive when they can learn by observing others, ask quick questions, and pick up subtle workplace nuances and learnings. Hybrid arrangements break that learning chain. Without experienced colleagues nearby, new hires can often struggle to gain context, build confidence, and contribute effectively. This slows productivity and can increase early turnover - which is costly for both employees and employers.

2. Collaboration Becomes Transactional

One finding from the research was the way in which remote and hybrid work changes employee priorities. When they work physically apart, employees tend to focus more narrowly on their own KPIs, often at the expense of collective goals. Informal help from nearby colleagues disappears, and people are slower to respond to requests outside their immediate team unless they already have strong connections. This can result in a more siloed, transactional workplace, where cross-functional problem-solving is harder to achieve.

3. Virtual Meetings Are Less Effective

Hybrid teams rely heavily on virtual meetings, but these come with inherent downsides: more attendees than necessary, increased multitasking, and reduced engagement. Many organisations have fallen into the trap of adding more meetings to compensate for reduced in-person interaction, but this usually leads to meeting fatigue rather than clarity. Often, leaders start scheduling follow-up conversations just to align distracted participants - a clear drain on productivity.

4. Promotions and Leadership Pipeline at Risk

With managers unable to observe day-to-day collaboration, promotions increasingly favour strong individual performers rather than effective team players. While this may seem meritocratic, their research shows that star individual contributors don’t always make good leaders. Over time, this weakens leadership pipelines and undermines team performance.

5. Cultural 'Erosion' and Weakened Commitment

Workplace culture is learned by watching how decisions are made, how conflicts are resolved, and how leaders behave in real situations. Hybrid employees, especially those hired after the pandemic, have fewer opportunities to absorb these cultural norms. 

This risks creating two parallel cultures: one among long-tenured employees, another among newer hires. Meanwhile, weaker social bonds reduce loyalty and commitment, which increases the risk of turnover.

6. Hybrid Scheduling Chaos

Even when employees come to the office, hybrid models often fail to recreate the collaborative energy of full co-location. Flexible schedules and hot-desking mean colleagues frequently miss each other, defeating the purpose of coming in at all. This creates frustration and diminishes employees’ sense of belonging.

How Can We Fix It?

Set Clear Rules and Anchor Days

Organisations need to move beyond letting people set their own hybrid schedules and need to define specific anchor days when everyone is in the office. These days should focus on teamwork and culture-building activities.

Reward Collaboration and Mentorship

Performance metrics should evolve. Instead of focusing solely on individual KPIs, managers and leaders should start including measures of responsiveness, collaboration, and support for colleagues - especially around the mentoring new hires. Recognising these behaviours through bonuses, promotions, and public praise sends the signal that teamwork still matters.

Re-engineer Meetings

Meeting attendance should be limited to essential participants - with cameras on for virtual meetings - and a regular assessment of whether recurring meetings are still useful. Reducing unnecessary virtual meeting time frees up time and bandwidth for deeper work and better collaboration.

Strengthening Culture and Social Ties

Onboarding cohorts, mentoring programs, and social initiatives (both in-office and remote-friendly) are key to creating connections. Building culture deliberately is critical in hybrid models because it no longer “just happens” organically.

Support Mental Health and Wellbeing

Remote employees are harder to observe and can struggle in isolation. Leaders must prioritise regular check-ins, manager training in  having meaningful wellbeing conversations, and ensure clear boundaries on working hours.

The bottom line is that Hybrid work is here to stay for many organisations, but it isn’t automatically a win-win. Without deliberate effort and intent, it can weaken collaboration, culture, and performance. 

The solution isn’t simply forcing everyone back into the office, but rather redesigning hybrid models for intentional connection, clear expectations, and stronger social bonds. The leaders who get this right will be able to unlock hybrid’s true potential - flexibility without sacrificing performance or culture.