Cracking the Code of Hybrid Work Success

Duke colleagues share how they turned hybrid challenges into connection, creativity, and purpose-driven work

Four team photos and one individual photo against a blue background.
Teams and individuals across Duke have found ways to make the most of hybrid work.

Prior to the COVID pandemic, Elizabeth Thompson, then a communicator in the Department of Music at Duke, worked in a Biddle Music Building office where she was surrounded by students, faculty and pretty sounds flowing from classrooms and rehearsal spaces.

Then, during the lockdown, she got used to talking with colleagues by Zoom while working from her Durham home.

For the past few years, Thompson, now a Senior Public Relations Specialist with the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences, has followed a hybrid schedule – three days on campus in the Old Chemistry Building and two days working from home. The time at home helps her focus on major projects without interruption, while her on-site days offer collaboration, creative energy and inspiration from in-person conversations and campus events.

“As a communicator, you can do a lot remotely, but you also want to have your finger on the pulse of campus,” Thompson said. “You want to be where students and faculty are doing interesting things.”

A Working@Duke survey released earlier this year shows that hybrid work remains a popular option for non-patient and student facing roles. Of roughly 3,900 respondents, 45% work remotely one-to-four days per week. Gallup recently reported that 52% of U.S. workers with remote-capable jobs work a hybrid schedule.

While hybrid work has helped many achieve better work-life balance, it also comes with challenges such as feeling less connected to an organization’s culture and experiencing reduced team collaboration.

With that in mind, Working@Duke caught up with colleagues on some hybrid teams that have hit their stride to hear what strategies make their work arrangements successful.

Andrew Tie, fourth from right, and his Pratt School of Engineering colleagues benefit from working in-person together on Mondays. Photo courtesy of Andrew Tie.

Pick a Day to Be Together

When he got to Duke in September of 2024, Andrew Tie, Pratt School of Engineering Communications Specialist, had plenty of questions about his new workplace. When he had the chance to work alongside his nine-person hybrid team on campus, the learning opportunities were invaluable.

Tie spends three days each week working on-site at his team’s Teer Building workspace and two working from his Durham home. But it’s proven to be the Mondays, when all team members work together on-site, that have proven to be especially helpful.

From afternoon team meetings focused on project updates and problem-solving to the opportunity to tap into colleagues’ expertise, having one designated day when everyone is on-site has proven to be a successful strategy for Tie’s team.

“I really enjoy working remotely part of the time, but you cannot replicate the in-person experience, which is true of just about everything in life, whether that’s going to a concert or sporting event, or just seeing my coworkers,” Tie said. “It’s easier to have conversations and get to know people.”

Samuel Kamau, second from left, said regular check-ins with his Duke Neurobiology team members help keep the group connected and moving forward together. Photo courtesy of Samuel Kamau.

Make Check-Ins a Habit

Samuel Kamau, Duke Neurobiology’s Chief Administrative Officer, works on-site while leading a team of seven who each work remotely three days a week. His team’s on-site days are staggered to ensure there’s always enough coverage to support the 17 labs they serve with research administration, financial analysis and planning.

With varied hybrid schedules, Kamau prioritizes finding time to meet one-on-one with colleagues in-person or virtual, helping the group’s work move forward and its connections stay strong.

“I make it a point to check in with every staff member each week,” Kamau said. “It’s not about oversight – it’s about being present, building trust, and leading by example. It’s my way of saying, ‘I see you, I’m here for you, and we’re in this together.’”

Tripp Ake, second from left, said his team cherishes opportunities to bond away from work, such as during a recent bowling outing. Photo courtesy of Tripp Ake.

Take Time to Have Fun

Tripp Ake, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, said it took his team of about five some time to adjust to a hybrid schedule. Early in the transition, they mostly communicated by Zoom and met in person at their North Pavilion workspace once a week, but still felt somewhat disconnected.

But in the past few years, Ake and his colleagues have made it a point to inject fun into the days when the team is together.

Now, they eat lunch together at restaurants near campus or, on occasion, plan after-work group activities such as bowling. And with Ake developing a serious baking habit in the wake of the pandemic, he brings in homemade desserts such as cinnamon rolls, eclairs and truffles, a sweet touch to on-site work.

“Since it’s so rare for us to have everybody in the same space, we want to plan some fun things to do when we’re all together,” Ake said. “It just enhances your knowledge about the people you’re working with and what they’re interested in.”

Anna Kourouniotis, who works partly from her Hillsborough home, shares her schedule with colleagues so they know her availability. Photo courtesy of Anna Kourouniotis.

Share Your Schedule

When she’s working on-site at the Bevan Building, Anna Kourouniotis, Database Analyst II in the Office of the University Registrar, likes to keep her office door open so colleagues feel welcome to pop in and ask her a question.

But on Mondays and Fridays, when she works from her Hillsborough home, colleagues may not know when she’s available to help. That’s why she uses a few tactics to make her hybrid schedule easy to find for colleagues on her 26-person team and collaborators across campus.

In the online Microsoft Outlook client at mail.duke.edu, users can click on the gear icon to open the settings window and then click on “Calendar” and “Work Hours and Location.” Once there, they can denote what days they will work on-site and what days they will be remote. This information will be visible when colleagues click on her profile in Microsoft Teams and when they need to access their calendar in the online version of Outlook.

Kourouniotis also lists her on-site and remote work days in her email signature and on her team’s shared calendar in Microsoft Teams.

“When you’re working far away, you can’t just drop into somebody’s office,” Kourouniotis said. “I want people to know when it’s OK to reach out and when I might not answer right away.”

Whether working from home or with her Trinity College of Arts & Sciences team, Elizabeth Thompson, second from right, said she always keeps the mission of her work in mind. Photo by John West or Trinity Communications.

Define Your Mission

As part of a recent team retreat, Elizabeth Thompson and her colleagues from the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences communications team watched a brief LinkedIn Learning course entitled Thrive from Work from Anywhere.

Among the lessons on how to excel in a hybrid work environment, the advice to create a personal mission statement – essentially a declaration of the intent of your work – hit home for Thompson.

With an opportunity to reflect, Thompson defined the mission of her role as lifting up the outstanding work Duke students and faculty are doing every day.

“If you’re remote or hybrid, it’s important to keep that personal mission statement in mind,” Thompson said. “For me, even if I’m not on campus, I still want to keep the students and faculty close to heart.”

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