How it works
Every hybrid work model answers two questions: who decides where people work, and how much of the week is spent in the office. In flexible hybrid, each person chooses. In structured hybrid, the organization or the team sets specific office days. Office-first hybrid keeps most work in the office with some remote days, and remote-first hybrid makes remote work the default with occasional office time.
Many organizations mix these. A common pattern sets shared anchor days for each team and leaves the rest of the week flexible. Others let managers decide team by team, use a hub-and-spoke network of smaller offices, or combine a block of permanent desks for people who want to be in every day with bookable desks for everyone else.
The model drives the space plan. A structured model concentrates attendance on known days, so the office must be sized for those peaks. A flexible model spreads attendance more thinly but makes it harder for teams to overlap. Either way, attendance data by team and weekday shows whether the model works as intended.
Hybrid work models compared
Each model answers two questions, who decides and how often people come in, and each answer changes how much space you need.
| Model | Who decides | Days in the office | Space implication |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flexible hybrid | Each employee | Varies by person and week | Attendance spreads thinly; teams struggle to overlap, so visibility and booking matter most |
| Structured hybrid | The company | Set days each week | Predictable peaks on the set days; size the office for those days |
| Team-set anchor days | Each team or manager | Team days plus flexible days | Peaks by team; neighborhoods scheduled by day spread the demand |
| Office-first hybrid | The company | Most of the week | Close to a desk per person; little room to share or cut space |
| Remote-first hybrid | The company, with teams choosing when to gather | Occasional, for set purposes | Smaller hubs and bookable team space instead of a large headquarters |
How to measure it
- Map where each team sits on the spectrum today from actual attendance, not from the written policy.
- Check how often members of the same team are in on the same day; low overlap suggests the model needs more structure.
- Compare peak-day and average occupancy under the current model before you change desk ratios.
Examples
- Structured hybrid: a bank asks all corporate staff to be in on three set days and to work remotely on the other two.
- Flexible hybrid with team anchors: a software company lets people choose their days but asks each team to meet in the office one day a week.
- Remote-first hybrid: a company closes its large headquarters and keeps small hubs for team gatherings and planning sessions.
Benchmarks
Flex Index data discussed by Kadence showed 43% of U.S. companies had adopted a structured hybrid model, requiring a set number of in-office days per week.
Kadence guide: Return to office (citing the Q2 2025 Flex Index Report)In the same data, 70% of companies with fewer than 500 employees were fully flexible, while 70% of enterprises with over 25,000 employees had opted for structured hybrid.
Kadence guide: Return to office (citing the Q2 2025 Flex Index Report)
Common mistakes
- Choosing a model because peers use it rather than because it fits how your teams work.
- Applying one model to every team, when sales, engineering and operations often need different rhythms.
- Announcing a model without changing the office, so desks, rooms and booking rules still assume everyone is in every day.
How Kadence helps
Kadence supports each model. Employees set an office or remote status and book desks and rooms, managers set recurring team days with Team Kadence, and admins use neighborhoods, the Neighborhood Scheduler and booking rules to match space to the model. Workplace Insights shows attendance and occupancy by team and day, and SpaceOps scenario planning compares how a different model would change space needs.
Hybrid working coordination · Scenario planning · Hybrid work strategy guide
Frequently asked questions
What are the four types of hybrid work model?
The four common types are flexible hybrid, where employees choose their days; structured hybrid, with set office and remote days; office-first hybrid, where most work happens in the office; and remote-first hybrid, where remote work is the default and the office is used occasionally. Many organizations combine elements, such as flexible weeks with team anchor days.
Which hybrid work model is best?
No model is best for every organization. Choose based on how much your teams depend on working together in person, where your people live, what your leaders will actually support and how much space you have. Pilot the model with a few teams, measure attendance and overlap, and adjust before rolling it out company-wide.
What is a structured hybrid model?
A structured hybrid model sets specific days when employees are in the office and specific days when they work remotely. The days may be set company-wide or by team. It makes attendance predictable, which helps teams overlap and helps workplace teams plan space, but it gives less individual choice than flexible hybrid.
What is the difference between remote-first and office-first hybrid?
In remote-first hybrid, remote work is the default and people come to the office for specific purposes such as workshops or team gatherings. In office-first hybrid, the office is the default and remote days are the exception. The difference shapes how much space you need and how meetings are run.
Related terms
- Hybrid work A way of working where employees split their time between the office and remote locations such as home.
- Hybrid work policy The written rules for how hybrid work runs: office days, booking, meetings, manager duties and how success is measured.
- Office attendance policy A rule that sets how often employees are expected in the office, such as a number of days per week or month.
- Anchor days Set days each week when a team or company agrees to be in the office together, with the other days flexible.
- Virtual-first (remote-first) An operating model where remote work is the default for individual work and offices are used for planned gatherings.
- Hub-and-spoke office model An office network with a central headquarters hub and smaller satellite offices or flexible spaces closer to where people live.
Kadence editorial team · Last reviewed