Being a hybrid worker versus hybrid professional identity
Let’s clear up some confusion.
The terms "hybrid worker" and "hybrid competence" appeared in my inbox last week, and I thought stomp the brakes!
We have a mega word confusion alert!!!
What the heck do these terms mean?
I don't want you to sound stupid, I don't want to sound stupid, and I certainly don't want to complicate the uprising lexicon of "hybrid" work, which is invading and permeating everything.
Let's rewind.
In 2019, nobody was using the term hybrid work.
As of March and June 2022, the term "hybrid work" hit 100/100 on the Google Trends scale, meaning peak interest!
This chart shows how the term "hybrid work" has become adopted and grabbed a foothold in society.
With any new term comes a period of socializing, testing, trying it on, and using it in all kinds of odd combinations.
So when new terms are added, like "hybrid worker" and "hybrid competence," these phrases must also be socialized and clarified.
CULTURE DEFINES NEW LANGUAGE
How are businesses and the media using "hybrid worker" and "hybrid competence?" They're definitely using them differently than the way I am in my research.
That's important to notice and respect.
I've recommended to many of you to tell people you're a hybrid professional, even to put it in the header of your LinkedIn. But right now, I'm rethinking this advice.
Being a hybrid worker (and maybe even a hybrid professional) is different than having a hybrid professional identity. Without the word identity, there is potential for massive confusion.
"HYBRID WORKER" TAKES ON NEW MEANING
Hybrid work is defined as a flexible work model that's a mixture of employees being physically in the workplace and remote. So a hybrid worker is a designation for someone who works in this kind of environment.
MIT Sloan Management Review recently published this article about the loneliness of hybrid workers. Again, this reinforces the meaning that a hybrid worker is a person who is sometimes in the workplace and sometimes at home.
The key takeaway is that the cultural meaning of being a hybrid worker is different than my research on professional identity. If you call yourself a hybrid worker, it connotes the work environment you're in.
If you talk about your hybrid professional identity, it references who you are and how you see yourself in your work- this is an identity label and not about your work location.
"HYBRID COMPETENCE" HITS GOOGLE
Then this article on Business Insider, "Hybrid competence is the newest soft skill...", also hit my radar, and I wanted to unpack this a bit too.
You may be asking yourself, what is hybrid competence?
Quite simply, it's a person who is comfortable and highly skilled in doing a job that blends a physical workplace with remote work.
I've never used this term before. Instead, I advise people about their hybrid expertise, which is what makes you unique. When you work at the intersection of your primary professional identities, you hybridize your best identities together into a whole new expertise only you can be= your hybrid expertise.
Hybrid competence and hybrid expertise are also two different ideas.
LONG STORY SHORT
Be careful! Use caution when throwing about terms that have to do with hybridity in the workplace.
You might be saying something that doesn't make sense to the other person.
Importantly, in today's workforce, you may have a hybrid professional identity and be a hybrid worker in a hybrid job who demonstrates hybrid competence. For real! This is the new frontier of work.
These terms are four distinct ideas, and they're just catching on.
Whew, how are you doing with all this new language? Reply to this email and let me know what you think.
(Pssst, grab my free professional identity vocab list if you need a cheat sheet)