Establishing Clean and Equitable Worksharing Agreements for Hybrid Work
Designed for People managers in mid-sized organizations leading geographically dispersed, hybrid teams for the first time to spark real collaboration and high-energy learning.
A 90-minute hybrid session, with managers joining from both office and remote locations. Audience pain points: Managers struggle to ensure fair workload division, worry about invisible labor, and face resistance when renegotiating task allocation across time zones and work modes. Participants are practical, results-focused, and want tactical solutions without HR jargon.
Sticky Note Storm: Snap Judgments
Open with a rapid-fire visual: show a slide with 4 diverse hybrid team scenarios (e.g., 'Jane logs on at 7am, Ahmed answers emails at midnight'), and ask managers to jot down quick, gut-feeling labels (e.g., 'overachiever,' 'checked out')—one per sticky note, physical or virtual. You’ll create a wall of first impressions to surface assumptions about hybrid work patterns.
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Why this works
Curiosity and visual activity prime the group for active engagement, and help surface subconscious beliefs that shape later discussions.
Fairness Fallacies: Fact or Myth?
Present three common statements about hybrid work equity (e.g., 'People who are always online are carrying more weight'). Ask managers, in pairs, to vote 'Fact' or 'Myth' and justify their stance. Debrief with surprising data—such as research on presenteeism vs. actual output.
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Why this works
Directly confronting prevalent misconceptions helps recalibrate the group's mental models and opens minds for learning.
Equity Light Touch Poll
Use an anonymous, live poll (like Slido or Zoom poll) with statements such as 'I know exactly how my team's workload is distributed.' Display aggregate results instantly, and invite volunteers to share what surprised or resonated.
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Why this works
Low-pressure, real-time feedback allows introverts to participate and makes invisible patterns visible to everyone.
Team Tetris: Build a Work Grid
Break groups into teams of 4-5 and hand them a magnetic whiteboard or virtual drag-and-drop grid. Each 'block' is a task (e.g., 'Monday client call,' 'Quarterly report'). The challenge: collaboratively create an equitable schedule for a week, factoring in time zones, visible and invisible work. Fastest team to consensus wins a small prize.
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Why this works
Physical manipulation and the element of speed trigger energy and make abstract concepts (like workload balance) tangible and fun.
Manager's Dilemma: Invisible Labor
Share this dilemma: 'Alex, your remote team lead, is praised for stepping up, but later you discover they’ve been quietly handling 60% of the team's urgent but unseen tasks.' Invite managers to brainstorm solutions in small groups: How would you surface and rebalance this invisible labor, without demotivating Alex or alienating the team?
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Why this works
A grounded, messy scenario sparks relevance and tests the group’s application of equitable worksharing principles.
Personal Contract: My Next Step
Invite each manager to privately jot down one specific, timely action they’ll take to clarify or redistribute work this week (e.g., 'I will map task distribution in our next check-in'). Optionally, pair up for a 1-minute share for optional accountability.
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Why this works
Active reflection and self-contracting dramatically boost follow-through and personal connection to the topic.
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