Natasha Tamiru has spent over a decade creating experiential learning and engaging work experiences to help Google’s clients in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa tackle their biggest organisational challenges. As our world becomes increasingly hybrid, she explains what businesses can do to foster engagement, productivity, and happiness across teams.
Hybrid working has profoundly reshaped our approach to work-life balance and wellbeing. The shift towards flexibility has brought notable benefits, such as increased productivity and access to global talent. But it also presents challenges; mental health, loneliness, and hampered career progression are increasingly familiar issues — and particularly acute for those entering the workforce for the first time.
Having spent over a decade leading organisational transformation programmes for Google’s clients, I have seen these implications unfold first-hand. And while the benefits of flexible working are far too great to return to the ways of old, it’s become apparent that there’s no one-size-fits all approach available. Instead, we must thoughtfully design our (virtual) workspaces to address the needs of both organisations and the individuals who work for them.
Optimise for different workspaces
While the shift to remote work has sparked some level of nostalgia for traditional, in-person creative collaboration, the jury is out on what environment is most conducive for effective teamwork. Some research suggests that remote work hinders innovation due to the lack of physical proximity; other studies indicate an evolving and equally effective form of digital collaboration among remote teams.
One thing is certain: we shouldn’t try to replicate what works face-to-face in an online setting. Back-to-back virtual meetings are much more exhausting than when you’re all sitting in the office together, so they should be used more deliberately.
Collaboration and innovation can be as achievable online as they are in person as long as you design for it.
It really helps to think about asynchronous (working independently at one's own pace) and synchronous (working together in real-time) methods — and use both to accommodate different working styles. A real benefit of people working virtually is that they’re away from distractions and can do deep work, so it’s good to be intentional about how and when to utilise that. And when people do come together, that time can then be used to be productive and build relationships.
Plus, setting clear expectations and giving people the time to develop ideas independently before virtual group discussions, as well as utilising shared documents and clear deadlines, can really boost the effectiveness of meetings.
Collaboration and innovation can be as achievable online as they are in person as long as you design for it. People need to have the right tools: a solid wifi connection and working camera is critical, and at Google, we also encourage dual screen setups and collaborative tools like Miro and Slides to encourage active participation in virtual meetings.
Design with individuals in mind
While I personally find it unhelpful to focus on generational differences as it often leads to stereotypes, we do need to acknowledge the context in which Gen Z entered the workforce. Many of them started their first jobs during the pandemic, which means working from home quickly became their norm — and they now can’t imagine a world without that flexibility.
But they’ve also had less of a chance to establish themselves, build relationships, and achieve career progression. So when designing hybrid workspaces, it's really important for organisations to consider how they can encourage newcomers to get involved. This will make them feel less isolated and more empowered to show initiative from the off.
A critical step towards a more inclusive workplace is creating a culture of responsibility and accountability from the top.
Onboarding in general remains a key challenge of remote working. Anyone starting a new job needs the opportunity to build rapport, so it’s important that organisations are intentional about opening up to them. At Google, new starters are all assigned an onboarding buddy to ensure they have someone other than their direct managers to build a connection with and go to for questions.
Finally, assessing the accessibility needs for employees both in the office and when working remotely is also key to ensuring everyone can fully participate. This includes (but is not limited to) enabling assistive technology features, such as screen readers, captioning, wearable devices, transcription, subtitles, and magnifiers.
A critical step towards a more inclusive workplace is creating a culture of responsibility and accountability from the top. At Google, we make a concerted effort to get regular feedback, particularly from underrepresented groups, to assess how we're doing across all these aspects. We've moved away from an annual survey to regular employee pulse checks to ensure we're making continuous adaptations and improvements to the workplace to meet peoples' needs as efficiently as possible.
Boost productivity while harnessing trust and culture
For organisations and leadership, a core challenge of the shift towards flexible work is that they’ve had to rethink how they manage teams and measure their performance.
It’s often a lack of trust — whether in employees or the process itself — that leads to mandates for full-time office returns and excessive employee monitoring. However, such measures risk alienating talent and jeopardising the psychological safety vital for business effectiveness. And it’s not going to help with retention.
Hybrid teams strike a happy medium by leveraging the benefits of both virtual (asynchronous) and in-office (synchronous) worlds. At Google, we’ve made this work by establishing clear rules of engagement. From set office days, core hours for meetings (incorporating different time zones), and protocols for video calls (camera off for information-sharing meetings only), to encouraging remote days for focused, high-concentration tasks and office days for meetings, coffee chats, and collaborative work. And individuals are encouraged to share their communication preferences — balancing chat, email, and calls while avoiding pressure for immediate responses outside working hours.
These rules help distil a culture of trust by setting clear expectations around job competence, meeting objectives, and key results (cognitive trust), but it’s also helped people build stronger interpersonal relationships within their teams (affective trust). Both of those aspects are key drivers of psychological safety.
And that’s what it’s ultimately about. Teams and individuals can thrive in any setting, virtual or physical, as long as organisations foster a strong, positive culture led by intentional efforts and shared values. But that won’t materialise by itself. It has to be designed for and built into every aspect of your workspace. Only then will people feel encouraged and motivated to push themselves, cherish connections, and ultimately contribute to an engaged and high-performing workforce.
