Glossary · Hybrid work & policy

What are workplace personas?

Short answer

Workplace personas are short profiles of typical employee work styles that describe how different groups prefer to work, where they do their best work and what they need from the office. Workplace, HR and real estate teams use them to design hybrid policies, space and tools for the whole workforce rather than an imagined average employee.

Also called hybrid work personas, employee personas, work style personas.

How it works

Personas are built from data and conversation: attendance and booking patterns, surveys, interviews and focus groups. Each persona groups people with similar needs, for example how often they want to come in, what work they do in the office, whether they need quiet or collaboration, and what gets in their way.

Kadence has described four common hybrid personas. The Soloist is independent, highly productive and happiest working remotely, with a risk of isolation. The Traditionalist prefers the office every day and is likely to resist hybrid most. The series also named the Adapter and the Culturalist. Many organizations define their own, such as frequent collaborators, focused specialists, mobile workers and on-site roles.

Personas turn into design decisions. A workforce with many Traditionalists may need a block of permanent desks or recurring bookings; one with many Soloists needs strong digital channels and well-planned team days. Revisiting personas as attendance data changes keeps them from hardening into stereotypes.

How to measure it

  1. Check personas against attendance and booking data, not just survey answers.
  2. Make sure each persona's needs map to specific space types, policies or tools.
  3. Revisit personas each year, or after major policy or office changes.

Examples

  • A firm finds a large group who want to be in every day and sets aside a permanent-desk zone for them, with bookable desks for everyone else.
  • Survey results show a group of remote-leaning specialists, so the company makes big announcements on video and sets team-day dates well in advance.

Common mistakes

  • Building personas from assumptions or job titles rather than data.
  • Designing for one persona, often the leadership's own work style.
  • Treating personas as labels for individuals rather than patterns for planning.

How Kadence helps

Kadence data helps ground personas in behavior. Workplace Insights shows attendance, booking patterns and average weekly hours, and employee surveys (WorkOps Pro) collect preferences. Assigned desks, recurring bookings and team neighborhoods then serve different personas in the same office.

Workplace analytics · Desk booking software · Hybrid work strategy guide

Frequently asked questions

What are hybrid work personas?

Hybrid work personas are profiles of how different groups of employees prefer to split their time between home and office, and what they need in each place. They help organizations design hybrid policies, office space and tools for the real mix of people rather than for one average worker.

What are the four hybrid personas?

Kadence described four common hybrid personas: the Soloist, who is independent and happiest working remotely; the Traditionalist, who prefers the office every day; the Adapter; and the Culturalist. Organizations often create their own versions from their attendance and survey data.

How do you create workplace personas?

Start with data: attendance, booking patterns and the types of space people use. Add surveys, interviews and focus groups across departments to learn what people do in the office and what gets in their way. Group people with similar needs, name each group, and link each persona to specific design decisions.

What is a solo worker in a hybrid workplace?

A solo worker, sometimes called a Soloist, does their best work independently and is happiest working remotely. They are often highly productive but can become isolated. Keeping them connected means shared digital channels, announcements everyone hears at the same time, regular check-ins and clear notice of in-person days.

  • Hybrid work model The specific rules an organization uses to decide where and when people work, from flexible to office-first.
  • Activity-based working (ABW) A workplace model in which people move between settings designed for different tasks instead of working at one assigned desk.
  • Workspace types The settings an office offers, such as desks, focus rooms, phone booths, huddle rooms and lounges, each suited to a kind of work.
  • Hybrid work policy The written rules for how hybrid work runs: office days, booking, meetings, manager duties and how success is measured.

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