In the fundamental Chinese principle of Yin and Yang, all things exist as inextricable pairs: darkness and light, feminine and masculine energy, fire and water, sun and moon.
Each pair is an equal opposite. Neither reigns over the other, and each possesses elements of its inverse at its core. To achieve the coveted sense of harmony between reflexive energies, the perfect balance must be struck.
In the modern workplace, the concept of duality is manifested most vividly in the hybrid work model. Sun and moon becomes at-home collaboration and in-office meetings, while fire and water becomes asynchronous workflow and live hybrid meeting technology.
Sage tech leaders seek to invest in the most promising elements of both remote and in-person work — and in some cases fuse them together. The result is an evolving and congruous hybrid workplace, one which is driven by a carefully struck balance unique to the company that crafts it.
Built In Chicago sat down with employees from two local tech companies to learn more about how they’ve achieved Yin and Yang in the design of their hybrid models.
Locusview aims to help utilities control and optimize their capital projects — while preparing for the future challenges of building smarter infrastructure. Locusview’s Digital Construction Management (DCM) platform was designed to help energy, telecom and water utilities manage large-scale construction projects. “At Locusview, we pride ourselves on building a digital solution based on feedback from users in the field, and we're using that same approach with our flexible workplace model,” HR Manager Will Berkley-Gough told Built In Chicago.
Briefly describe your company's hybrid model.
Rather than a top-down set schedule or an arbitrary attendance goal, our team members are expected to come in when it makes the most sense.
For some highly collaborative teams, that may mean coming in twice a week to problem-solve client projects. Other teams may only need to meet in person to welcome new team members or brainstorm new initiatives. Each department's leader establishes the goals of in-person work and allows team leaders to set expectations — while respecting the work-life balance needs of their people.
What makes your hybrid work model particularly unique?
The team-level autonomy and flexibility are unlike most return-to-work plans I've read about. Our people are too smart to buy the idea that they should just go back to the way it was, forgetting the previous two-plus years of remote work innovations.
Our model is working because it respects our employees' intelligence and invites them to be an active part of the solution. This makes the time we do have together in the office feel intentional, collaborative and engaging.
Our model is working because it invites them to be an active part of the solution.”
How has your hybrid work model evolved over time?
We made the choice to use a co-working space for nine months as an interim step while scaling up our office footprint. We tried a remote-first model for a while, before moving to a flexible model with a few mandatory meetings.
The fully-loaded space was great for figuring out our in-person needs before we moved into our bigger home in October 2022. The company leaders and HR team were able to see — not theorize — which meetings did and didn't work on Zoom, which events were well-attended, which team members had special concerns and more.
Observing and speaking with the office "end-users" led us to where we are today.
Milyli aims to help customers build secure, intuitive software that makes managing sensitive information tasks easier. It is driven by the mantra that inspired its namesake: "Make It Like You Like It.” Software Developer Laura Moon has been impressed with Milyli’s agility in hybrid work. “We could work remotely before the pandemic, which factors into why we adapted so quickly and easily,” she told Built In Chicago.
Briefly describe your company's hybrid model.
Lissa Errea: Our hybrid work model truly is “Make It Like You Like It.” Some people go into the office twice a week, some are remote and some go into the office every day. Teams and the individuals on those teams have the autonomy to decide what works best for them as long as they communicate effectively.
Laura Moon: It’s an incredibly flexible policy where collaboration is more important than location. Management also makes sure that, wherever we are working, we have the tools and support we need to do our best work. My laptop allows me to have the same digital working environment wherever I work — from home, the office, or anywhere else I want to work.
Collaboration is more important than location.”
What makes your hybrid work model particularly unique?
Errea: Our hybrid model’s success comes from being a team effort to construct – not just management deciding one-size-fits-all. We surveyed employees, formed a committee to define what we needed and wanted, and ensured all viewpoints were considered. Tailoring everyone’s work environment and schedule to what works best for their individual lives greatly impacts personal satisfaction and work productivity.
Moon: I started as a fully remote employee. As people started to come back to the office more, it was great to set up a flexible schedule with my manager, where I come into the office a couple of days a week. I love collaborating in person on some days, but I also love avoiding the Chicago commute on others.
How has your hybrid work model evolved over time?
Moon: I feel most of the changes I’ve witnessed have been simple tweaks or small adjustments to improve individual or department-level performance. There has not been a need to overhaul what we set up as a larger group.
Errea: The last two years saw a need to formalize that process a bit — although I would agree with Laura that there have only been minor adjustments that we have made to ensure our hybrid arrangement succeeds.
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