Trip.com Group adopts global hybrid work model, based on trials, staff feedback

Starting March 2022, Trip.com, the global travel services provider, is implementing a global hybrid work model, allowing its employees to choose to work remotely on certain days every week. The policy will first be rolled out at its offices in Mainland China, where employees will be allowed the option to work remotely on fixed days in consultation with their managers.

The policy will be adjusted as per the local situations that prevail in the respective regions where the offices are located, and in keeping with COVID protocols.

The decision to switch to hybrid was taken after two trials in the last two years, involving different groups of employees and different working models. About 93 per cent of participants in the 2021 trial admitted to using their time more efficiently in the hybrid model and more than 75 per cent felt they had improved in terms of wellness.

With a reduction in labour turnover and improvement in overall employee well-being, the hybrid policy aligns with the Group’s employee value proposition (EVP) to ” to truly lead a full life in and out of the office”.

It was discovered that as the trials progressed, there was positive change in the attitude of the employees. Also, the employees as well as their supervisors were filled with optimism about the hybrid model. Also, more than 93 per cent of the employees admitted it reduced travel time, and helped them use their time more efficiently.

Seeing the increased job satisfaction and happiness, the Company decided to go for the hybrid model.

Interestingly, James Liang, group chairman of the board, published a paper in collaboration with scholars from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business in The Quarterly Journal of Economics, demonstrating the positive effects of hybrid work.