As we examined in a blog post this year, the world of remote work has changed dramatically. At that point, we talked about the hybrid models of work, where employees might spend part of their time working remotely and part of their time working in an office. Even in March 2021, when that blog was written, hybrid jobs were becoming a hot topic. Now, even outlets like Harvard Business Review are discussing the best ways to implement them in any organization. So, we’ve again teamed up with FlexJobs to examine trends in hybrid work. FlexJobs analyzed tens of thousands of hybrid job postings across 50 career categories to identify the Top 10 career paths for those working in jobs that use the hybrid model. PAIRIN then looked for the top skills necessary for these career paths and examined what specific jobs were in each career path. We analyzed the most common and important PAIRIN attributes needed in those jobs based on the highest averages of skills, resulting in a list of the most important attributes needed for each career path.
Top 10 Hybrid Jobs and Skill sets
| Rank | Career Categories | Top PAIRIN Skills |
| 1 | Sales | Influential Leadership Conflict Management Service Orientation Social Awareness Assertiveness |
| 2 | Project Management | Relationship Management Productivity Stress Tolerance Collaboration & Teamwork Dynamism |
| 3 | Computer & IT | Creativity Originality Problem Solving Objective-Analytical Critical Thinking |
| 4 | Healthcare | Service Orientation Supportiveness Social Awareness Accountability Compliance |
| 5 | Accounting & Finance | Social Awareness Compliance Relationship Conflict Management Critical Thinking |
| 6 | Marketing | Flamboyance Influential Leadership Assertiveness Inspirational Leadership Relationship |
| 7 | Education | Cooperative-Practical Creativity Originality Social Awareness Perspective |
| 8 | Customer Service | Supportiveness Service Orientation Conflict Management Stress Tolerance Assertiveness |
| 9 | Administrative | Service Orientation Supportiveness Flamboyance Relationship Stress Tolerance |
| 10 | HR & Recruiting | Compliance Perceptivity Productivity Supportiveness Conflict Management |
We also analyzed these data in aggregate to see what the top skills are across the top 10 hybrid model career paths. Listed below are the top eight skills that account for more than 50% of the skills in the hybrid model career paths:
- Supportiveness – The drive to assist, protect and provide for others in emotional or physical need.
- Assertiveness – Global tendencies to express and interact with boldness, enthusiasm and confidence.
- Compliance – Global tendencies to maintain self-discipline and conform to another’s plan, rules, will or direction.
- Conflict Management – The ability to effectively negotiate and resolve disagreements.
- Relationship – The drive to draw close and remain loyal to another person or people—to truly connect and enjoyably engage with them.
- Service Orientation – The ability to anticipate, identify and meet people’s often unspoken needs through assistance, products or services. The drive to generate customer satisfaction and loyalty.
- Social Awareness – To relate and respond to the feelings, needs and concerns of individuals or broader societal groups.
- Stress Tolerance – To endure pressure or uncertainty without becoming negative (e.g. hopeless, bitter or hostile) toward self or others.
Because hybrid models involve employees working in both remote and office environments, the skills necessary to be successful will bridge both corporate and home offices. Thus, we see skills like Compliance and Service Orientation that will help people be more able to self-manage and engage in good time management. Additionally, skills that help employees work alongside other people in an office environment like Relationship, Assertiveness, and Supportiveness are helpful in creating strong personal relationships. And finally, skills like Conflict Management and Stress Tolerance bridge both environments by helping people manage the general stress of work and working out disagreements between others both in-person and virtually.
As we noted in our previous work with FlexJobs on top remote jobs, remote jobs may have been believed to require those more able to work isolated, but they require social relationships too. With the added element of being able to flip between both remote and in-person work, hybrid roles appear to be even more social, requiring many relationship-based soft skills to excel.