Hybrid work treats staff as 'adults' and is best for retention, satisfaction, productivity, experts say

"At the end of 2022, Vik Kambli, chief operating officer and leader of people operations for veritree, says the company's pivot from remote working to a hybrid schedule happened somewhat organically. The Vancouver-based climate-tech platform, which verifies, tracks and measures reforestation, is a spinoff of the sustainable clothing company tentree and was just a year into operations at the time."

"Research from Stanford University economics professor Nicholas Bloom found that a hybrid work schedule of three days a week in the office is optimal. "Performance for hybrid employees was identical to the folks that came in five days a week," Mr. Bloom explains. "So, it seems that if you're in three days a week, that's kind of enough. You get a lot of mentoring and in-person connectivity, and performance was no better when dragging in people for the fourth and fifth day.""

"Despite employers such as major Canadian banks, the Ontario provincial government and online retailer Amazon mandating employees back to the office for four to five days a week, veritree has held firm on its two-day mandate. "I think our team members, myself included, appreciate the ability to just put our heads down and get stuff done," Mr. Kambli says of his work-from-home days."

Veritree, a Vancouver-based climate-tech platform spun off from sustainable clothing company tentree, verifies, tracks and measures reforestation. The company shifted from remote work to an organic hybrid schedule to meet higher collaboration needs and by 2023 mandated two in-office days — Tuesdays and Wednesdays — with about half of its roughly 80 staff attending optional Thursday working sessions for core business challenges. Several large employers mandated four to five in-office days, but Veritree maintained its two-day model and values focused remote work for heads-down tasks. Research from Stanford found three in-office days often yield optimal hybrid performance. A 2025 Angus Reid poll showed 59% prefer fully remote, 20% prefer hybrid, and 21% prefer the office.

Read at The Globe and Mail