The 10 biggest hybrid work challenges for office managers and workplace leaders

Hybrid work is no longer an experiment. For many companies across the DACH region, a mix of office and remote work has become part of everyday business. At the same time, it is becoming increasingly clear that a hybrid working model does not work without active organization and coordination.

In conversations with office managers, workplace leaders, HR, and facility teams, we repeatedly hear that existing processes are not meeting the demands that come with hybrid work. A lack of transparency, manual workflows, and rigid structures make it difficult to maintain oversight while also creating a positive workplace experience for employees.

Based on these conversations, we have summarized the ten biggest hybrid work challenges for 2025—along with possible approaches on how to overcome them that have proven effective in practice.

Key takeaways:

• The challenges of hybrid work are similar across many organizations, regardless of size or industry.
• Missing transparency, limited flexibility, and too many manual processes are among the most common issues. 
• Successful hybrid work models rely on clear rules, a strong digital infrastructure, and data-driven decision-making.

1. Lack of flexible workplace solutions for hybrid teams

One of the most common hybrid work challenges is fluctuating demand for office space. Employees work from home on some days and from the office on others—often depending on team days, projects, or personal preferences. Rigid workplace concepts struggle to reflect this dynamic. Assigning fixed desks leads to unused space on some days and capacity shortages on others. Many companies still manage this complexity using spreadsheets or manual coordination.

Possible solutions:

• Introducing flex desks instead of permanently assigned workstations
• Using a booking system that transparently displays available capacity
• Analyzing actual attendance as a basis for workspace planning

2. No working desk sharing solution available

A recurring question we hear from companies is: “How are we supposed to implement desk sharing if we don’t have the right tool?” Without a clear solution, desk usage quickly becomes confusing and is often perceived as unfair. The result is chaos in daily office operations and declining trust in the hybrid work model. Employees don’t know whether they will find a desk, and office teams lose valuable time coordinating manually.

Possible solutions:

• Developing a clear shared desk etiquette and concept with rules, zones, and roles
• Structured rollout of desk booking software, including internal communication
• Training sessions and clear guidelines for employees

3. No visibility into who is working remotely or from the office

A classic hybrid work challenge faced by many organizations: teams plan to meet in the office—only to find no one is actually there. Without transparent attendance visibility, collaboration becomes unnecessarily complicated. Reliable planning is often missing for team days, workshops, or collaborative project work, and spontaneous coordination fails due to a lack of visibility.

Possible solutions:

• A hybrid work tool with scheduling features and a central overview of when team members will be in the office
• Clear status indicators based on bookings or calendars
• Mobile solutions that make weekly hybrid planning easier for employees, such as weekly preferences in deskbird

4. Not enough desks for on-site employees

Many companies we talk to report space shortages in the office. Some reduced office space during the transition to hybrid work without relying on solid data. The result is simple: on certain days, there aren’t enough desks available. Peak days lead to stress, frustration, and inefficient workflows. Without reliable data, it remains unclear whether these are isolated incidents or structural issues.

Possible solutions:

• Using workplace analytics to collect and analyze office usage data for realistic capacity planning
• Adapting office layouts by introducing specific zones, such as focus areas or collaboration spaces
• Developing prioritization logic for certain teams or roles

5. Resistance to desk sharing

Not every hybrid work challenge is purely organizational. Emotional factors often play a major role. For many employees, losing their permanently assigned desk is perceived as a significant change, which naturally leads to resistance. Concerns around workplace processes, ergonomics, or privacy intensify these feelings—especially when desk sharing is introduced without sufficient communication and support.

Possible solutions:

• Early involvement of employees and open communication
• Clear rules, standards, and lockers for personal belongings
• Targeted change management to support the rollout
• Strategies for successfully introducing desk booking software to maximize employee acceptance
• Using a simple, user-friendly mobile app like deskbird for desk booking

6. Difficult return to the office

In hybrid work setups, many organizations still struggle to motivate employees to come into the office regularly. The office is often no longer perceived as a real added value. Without compelling reasons, desired office attendance fails to materialize—or is even perceived as forced.

Possible solutions:

• Redesigning the office as a social and collaborative hub where employees enjoy working
• Team-based hybrid work schedules with shared office days instead of rigid, blanket rules
• Clear communication of the “why” behind office attendance expectations

7. Lack of location visibility for colleagues

Collaboration depends on knowing who is working where and when. When this transparency is missing, misunderstandings arise around meetings, the workload doubles, waiting times increase, and opportunities are missed. In hybrid setups especially, visibility into colleagues’ office presence is a key factor for smooth collaboration. Yet in many conversations with clients and prospects, we consistently find that this transparency is simply lacking.

Possible solutions:

• A hybrid work solution like deskbird with direct status visibility (e.g. office, remote, absent) shown in the team feed
• Team overviews and flexible hybrid work policies for managers to plan shared office days
• Integration and automatic sync with HR systems and calendar tools to reflect absences and planned office days

8. Employees lack incentives to return to the office

For many employees, knowing that colleagues will be on site is a key motivation to come into the office. However, customer conversations often reveal that beyond location visibility, many companies lack additional incentives to encourage office presence. Without social or collaborative benefits, office attendance is seen as an obligation rather than an opportunity.

Possible solutions:

• Experience-driven office design with a focus on collaboration and office experience
• Implementing creative ideas to bring people back to the office, such as workplace events that can be planned easily with an app like deskbird
• A strong focus on exchange, collaboration, and workplace community
• Clear and transparent communication of the return-to-office strategy

9. No central partner for employee apps and workplace management

Many organizations rely on a wide range of isolated tools. Desk booking, meeting room booking, visitor management, and communication are handled through different systems—or sometimes not digitally at all. This creates extra admin work, constant context switching, and frustration for everyone involved. Put simply, many companies tell us they lack the right technology partner for workplace management and employee apps.

Possible solutions:

• Using an all-in-one workplace management platform
• A hybrid work solution like deskbird that offers a simple and intuitive mobile app for employees
• Workplace tools with seamless integrations into existing HR, IT, and calendar systems

10. Managing flexible workspaces and office zones via Excel

One of the most visible challenges of hybrid working is that workspaces, rooms, and hot desks are still managed manually. Handling desk booking via Excel is error-prone, rarely up to date, and provides no reliable real-time data. This not only complicates daily operations but also prevents strategic decisions around office space optimization and location planning.

Possible solutions:

• Gradually replacing manual processes with a desk booking tool
• Automated booking and release processes in case of no-shows
• Purposeful use of data for space and location decisions

How deskbird helps solve your hybrid work challenges

The wide range of challenges office managers, workplace leaders, and HR and facility teams face every day makes one thing clear: hybrid work doesn’t work without active management. It requires clear concepts, transparent processes, and tools that truly support everyday hybrid work.

An integrated workplace management platform like deskbird brings these elements together: flexible desk booking, team visibility, centralized workplace management, and data-driven insights—all in one place. This creates a hybrid work environment that not only runs smoothly but is also embraced by employees.

‍Request a free demo and get to know our all-in-one workplace management platform.