Hey, it's Rachel Cook, your modern mentor. And today we're going to talk about hybrid work,

and specifically about what you can do if your company is starting to set policies that aren't

really working for you. I have been talking to people all over the place lately who are telling me

things like, you know what, I've gotten so used to working

remotely. I have rewired my life and working virtually works for me. And now suddenly my company is

setting a policy where everyone needs to be in on Wednesdays or all brainstorming meetings need to be

happening in person. And I get it. I get why they're doing that, but it doesn't really work for me,

and I feel like I can't control that. And also, in my consulting role, I'm talking to leaders. I'm

talking to executives all day long who are saying, I know people really love the flexibility,

but also I need to rebuild the culture. We need to reconnect with our teams and rebuild community. So

I'm going to start bringing everybody back once a week in hopes of achieving that. I understand both

sides of this, and maybe you do as well. But if you're sitting in a company who is starting to set

policies that just aren't working for you and you don't feel like

you're in a position to influence that policy, then let's talk about some things that you can do

from any altitude of an organization. These are some tips I have shared with people in my own

network, and I'm hoping something here really resonates with you. The first one is start by understanding what their

objective is. The truth is, like I said, so many companies and leaders are really taking

shots in the dark here. They don't know what the right answer is. They're just trying to try

something. So bringing everybody in on Wednesdays feels like a great place to start. So if you ask,

hey, what's the purpose of this? They may stare at you blankly and say, I don't know. I just

thought reconnecting people might feel nice. Or they may actually have a strategic objective.

Like, well, you know, the business is really saying it needs to

...