Navigating Hybrid Work: Reflecting on Experiences of Mental Health Providers in an Academic Medical Center.

Abstract

BackgroundThe need to rapidly adapt to patient, learner and market needs during the pandemic has led to an expanded focus on telework and telehealth. Now, with increasing calls to return part-time to in-person work, there is a growing need for guidance on making the deliberate and thoughtful change to hybrid work. Challenges: Hybrid work introduces challenges related to physical space, education and supervision, and presenteeism. Opportunities: Hybrid work offers opportunities for flexibility, geographic diversity in learners and educators, autonomy, and mitigation of some of the challenges experienced in solely in-person or solely remote work. Conclusion: Our own experiences in navigating this transition in an academic medical center suggest that hybrid work can be a unique experience, worthy of its own body of literature. This article is intended to bring together and support conversations happening between individuals, particularly mental health providers, around hybrid clinical work and supervision. Our hope is to facilitate further discussion and identify possible areas of future research related to this evolving work model.