Engineering for Hybrid Work: Best of Both Worlds

As vaccination rates rise, many companies are moving to hybrid work—some days in office, some remote. This sounds like a reasonable compromise, but it’s actually harder than either full remote or full in-office. The worst outcome is two-tier teams where office workers have advantages.

Here’s how to make hybrid work for engineering teams.

The Hybrid Challenge

What Can Go Wrong

two_tier_teams:
  office_workers:
    - Informal decisions in hallways
    - Better visibility to leadership
    - Stronger relationships
    - More context

  remote_workers:
    - Miss spontaneous discussions
    - Out of sight, out of mind
    - Weaker relationships
    - Always catching up

result:
  - Remote workers disadvantaged
  - Decisions made without full team
  - Information asymmetry
  - Resentment on both sides

The Worst Hybrid Patterns

patterns_to_avoid:
  meeting_inequality:
    - Office workers in room
    - Remote workers on screen
    - Office sidebar conversations
    - Remote workers can't participate equally

  asynchronous_breakdown:
    - Office relies on in-person
    - Remote relies on written
    - Neither works well

  presence_bias:
    - "Face time" valued
    - Remote workers seem less committed
    - Promotion disadvantage

Principles for Hybrid Success

Remote-First Mindset

Even with office available, operate as if everyone is remote:

remote_first_principles:
  documentation:
    - Decisions documented, not just made
    - Context shared in writing
    - Meeting notes required

  communication:
    - Async by default
    - Written over verbal
    - Accessible to all timezones

  meetings:
    - All participants join from laptop
    - Or nobody joins from laptop
    - No hybrid meeting rooms

  work:
    - Output matters, not location
    - Same expectations regardless of where
    - Flexibility without penalty

Equal Meeting Experience

The “one person remote, everyone remote” rule:

meeting_equality:
  option_1_all_remote:
    - Everyone joins from laptop
    - Even if in same building
    - Same audio/video quality for all

  option_2_all_in_person:
    - Schedule when all can attend
    - No remote participants
    - For workshops, offsites, team building

  avoid:
    - Conference room + remote participants
    - Office sidebar during meetings
    - "Oh, we discussed this after the call"

Intentional Office Time

Use office for what offices do best:

good_office_use:
  collaboration:
    - Whiteboard sessions
    - Pair programming
    - Design workshops
    - Problem-solving together

  relationship_building:
    - Team lunches
    - Social events
    - New hire onboarding
    - 1:1s that benefit from in-person

  focused_work:
    - Some people focus better in office
    - Escape home distractions
    - Dedicated workspace

poor_office_use:
  - Sitting in meetings all day (can do from home)
  - Working alone at desk (can do from home)
  - Mandatory presence for no reason

Team Practices

Communication Patterns

async_communication:
  daily_updates:
    - Written status in team channel
    - What I did, what I'm doing, blockers
    - Replaces sync standup

  decisions:
    - Proposals in shared docs
    - Comments for discussion
    - Explicit decision and rationale recorded

  documentation:
    - Architecture decisions
    - Meeting outcomes
    - Project context

sync_communication:
  scheduled:
    - Team meetings (limited)
    - 1:1s
    - Planning sessions

  spontaneous:
    - Slack huddles / quick calls
    - For complex discussions
    - Follow up with written summary

Coordination Patterns

team_coordination:
  core_hours:
    - Define overlap time (e.g., 10am-3pm local)
    - Protect for sync communication
    - Flexible outside core hours

  office_days:
    - Coordinate team office presence
    - "Team day" for collaboration
    - Optional, not mandatory

  calendar_hygiene:
    - Block focus time
    - Indicate location (office/remote)
    - Respect async preferences

knowledge_practices:
  documentation:
    - Decisions in writing
    - Runbooks maintained
    - Onboarding materials current

  sharing_sessions:
    - Regular demos (recorded)
    - Lunch and learns (recorded)
    - Code reviews as teaching

  onboarding:
    - Structured first week
    - Buddy system
    - Mix of office and remote time

Management Practices

Inclusive Leadership

leadership_practices:
  visibility:
    - Recognize remote contributions equally
    - Promote based on output, not presence
    - Share context widely

  communication:
    - Don't make decisions in hallways
    - If discussed in office, share with remote
    - Over-communicate important information

  trust:
    - Assume good faith
    - Focus on results
    - Flexibility works both ways

Performance Evaluation

evaluate_fairly:
  focus_on:
    - Work delivered
    - Quality of contributions
    - Collaboration effectiveness
    - Growth and learning

  avoid:
    - Hours in office
    - Response time to messages
    - Visible "busyness"
    - Proximity to manager

Team Health

monitor_for:
  signs_of_trouble:
    - Remote workers disengaging
    - Office cliques forming
    - Information not reaching everyone
    - Promotion disparities by location

  actions:
    - Regular team surveys
    - 1:1s include satisfaction check
    - Adjust practices based on feedback
    - Address issues promptly

Tools and Infrastructure

Equal Technology Access

tooling:
  everyone_needs:
    - Good laptop
    - Quality headset/camera
    - Access to all collaboration tools

  office_needs:
    - Bookable desks (hot desking)
    - Good video conference rooms
    - Quiet spaces for calls

  remote_needs:
    - Home office support
    - Internet reimbursement
    - Ergonomic equipment

Meeting Room Setup

meeting_room_guidelines:
  if_hybrid_unavoidable:
    - High-quality camera (not laptop webcam)
    - Multiple microphones
    - Large screen for remote faces
    - Whiteboard camera for diagrams

  better_alternatives:
    - Everyone joins from laptops (even in office)
    - Record and share sessions
    - Use digital whiteboards (Miro, Figma)

Making the Transition

Phased Approach

transition_phases:
  phase_1_experiment:
    - Try different approaches
    - Gather feedback
    - Identify what works

  phase_2_formalize:
    - Document practices
    - Train managers
    - Set expectations

  phase_3_iterate:
    - Regular review
    - Adjust based on feedback
    - Continuous improvement

Team Agreements

# Example team agreement
team_hybrid_agreement:
  communication:
    - Async by default
    - Respond to messages within 4 hours during core hours
    - Document decisions and share context

  meetings:
    - All remote or all in-person
    - Start and end on time
    - Record when possible

  office:
    - Tuesdays are team collaboration day
    - Otherwise flexible
    - Communicate your location

  expectations:
    - Output matters, not location
    - Flexibility for life needs
    - Speak up if something isn't working

Key Takeaways

Hybrid is harder than full remote or full office; it can create two-tier teams
Adopt remote-first mindset: document, communicate asynchronously, make information accessible
“One remote, all remote” for meetings prevents hybrid meeting dysfunction
Use office intentionally for collaboration, relationship building, focused work
Coordinate team office presence for collaborative work
Evaluate on output, not presence; avoid proximity bias
Provide equal technology and support for all locations
Formalize practices in team agreements
Monitor for signs of inequality and address promptly

Hybrid work can be the best of both worlds—flexibility of remote with connection of office. But it requires intentional design, not just splitting the difference.