Your workplace today and in future: some key terms

You've probably noticed already: the buzz about hybrid work is booming. So is a new range of vocabulary, in a worldwide effort to catch the new, rapidly evolving trends in our working lives in human language.

On this page, we define some terms you've probably already come across.

On-site

'On-site work' is pretty self-explanatory: an employee goes to the office to work, a teacher goes to school to teach. This is a classic working model, in which you're surrounded with colleagues, students, patients, consultants and other people you work with.

On-site work can also describe activities that must be done at a specific other location. The school teacher can go to a museum with their pupils, or a marketing coordinator may need to spend a day at a photography agency for a photoshoot.

Remote

The term 'remote' implies that a job is not necessarily linked to a specific location - in other words, it can be done anywhere, and the employee can choose to do it elsewhere. Examples are working at home, in a bar, at the airport, ... Of course, most companies have specific policies for functions that allow working remotely.

Virtual

Nowadays, not many jobs are done completely offline anymore. So when you're working remotely, you'll probably be using a digital - 'virtual' - environment to access information and stay in contact with colleagues. This can be many things: a software system, a cloud environment for data storage, digital chat and meeting tools, ...

When working remotely, a virtual environment forms a bridge between the employee and their organization. An administrative staff member will use a digital administration platform and access to emails. Or think of virtual classrooms, whereby the teacher and students are at different locations, but all are connected via an online learning platform.

Hybrid

Hybrid work describes a regime that is currently massively finding its way to many different working environments. If you look at 'on-site' and 'remote', you can see these terms as two ends of a continuum. On one end, an employee works 100% at the office, on the other, he or she works 100% elsewhere.

Thanks to advanced digital developments, it is now possible to start mixing these up, and finding other ways of working along the continuum. With 'hybrid work', it's possible to easily switch between working in the office, and other locations. Digital solutions enable this way of working through audio and video streaming, and content sharing.

For example, teachers can be in a classroom with half of their students there as well, and the other half following the class from their laptops at home. A medical expert can advise colleagues in other countries, from their own office in the hospital where they work. Sales representatives who are often on the road to visit customers, can keep in touch with their HQ at all times.

In short, hybrid work is a balance between on-site and remote, and makes the work environment a playground that respects your productivity and boosts your work-life balance.

Are you moving towards hybrid work?

Find out how we can help

Choose your language and country settings