Remote work models explained: fully remote, hybrid, and distributed teams

Remote work isn’t a new concept. Even before 2020, companies were having huge successes with remote setups. Working remotely can benefit companies of any size. You just have to find the remote work models and strategies that are best for your team.

What is a remote work model?

Putting it simply, remote work models are thoughtfully planned setups for how a team functions outside the office or central location (if there is one). These plans establish your remote workforce structure, including where employees work, how often they meet in person, if at all, and how communication happens between teams and the company as a whole. 

There are several types of remote work setups, so make sure you understand the ins and outs of each option so you can choose the right model for your team.

What are the types of remote work models?

There are four common types of remote work models, and each offers different levels of flexibility, structure, and in-person time. Let’s unpack how these types of remote work setups are typically structured and how they can work for your team in the real world.

What is a fully remote model?

A fully remote work model means the entire company works outside of a physical office. With no permanent location, employees can typically work from anywhere their employer allows.

In the U.S., one in two employees with an advanced degree is working remotely, which means employers will attract and retain these skilled workers better with a fully remote work setup.

Ideal for:

• Tech-savvy teams with strong communication skills

• Companies using asynchronous workflows

• Businesses that value autonomy and deep focus

• Startups looking to minimize overhead costs

• Freelance-first or contract-heavy businesses

• Creative teams working on project-based deliverables

• Engineering and dev teams that use agile or sprint methods

• Small teams with high trust and low bureaucracy

Benefits: 

• More access to a broader talent pool 

• Lower costs without the need for an office

• Flexibility to create personalized work environments

• May lead to higher worker productivity

Challenges:

• Struggles with culture building and loneliness

• Coordination across multiple time zones 

• Communication delays or missed tone in messages

• Risk of “ghost mode” (people quietly drifting out of sync)

How to make it work

Here are six creative, actionable strategies to make a fully remote workforce structure thrive:

1. Replace watercooler chats with async Polo prompts.

Send low-pressure video prompts a few times a week to spark connections and culture moments. These can replace awkward Zoom socials with fun moments of authenticity and be powerful for teams across time zones or introverts who prefer async bonding.

Here’s what it could look like:

• Monday: “What’s one thing on your desk you love and why?”

• Wednesday: “What’s your go-to hype song this week?”

• Friday: “What’s the best (or worst) show you’re watching right now?”

You could also create a whole shared culture calendar (Notion or Google Calendar) with lightweight, async cultural activities for people to opt into, boosting morale without adding Zoom to the mix.

Ideas:

• “Pet Polo Week,” where everyone introduces their furry coworker

• “2-Minute Tuesday Wins” with quick shoutouts via Polo

• “Book + Beverage Fridays,” where you record your latest read and what you’re drinking to wrap the week on a fun, happy hour note
  

2. Used narrated screen recordings for project handoffs

Instead of dropping a long-winded explanation about the work they’ve done in Slack, have team members use a Sharecast Polo that lets them explain with detailed nuance, and others respond individually. For example, a designer could:

• Record a Polo walking through a new UX flow

• Flag decisions still in play

• Ask for async feedback by Friday

It’s faster than typing, richer than text, and easier for others to refer back to and respond at their own pace.

3. Adopt a policy of acknowledgement 

For teams using async tools like Marco Polo, people can send a quick reply to confirm they’ve watched. This keeps messages from feeling like they disappeared into the void and fosters lightweight accountability without pressure to over-communicate.

Pro tip: Use Marco Polo Pro to create custom group chats for each team, project, or topic. This keeps async updates more organized, visible, and accessible to everyone.

4. Set up “working with me” docs or videos

This strategy involves teammates filling out a doc or recording a Polo about how they prefer to work. This transparency helps people work better together in remote work models from the start, with less guesswork and friction. It’s useful for cross-functional teams and onboarding new hires remotely with quick facts like:

• Working hours and time zone

• How they like to receive feedback

• Their preferred communication tools

• A random fun fact
  

5. Use time zone-based response agreements

It’s a good idea to set clear, team-wide expectations around async communication. This reduces pressure to be online 24/7, prevents burnout, and honors different schedules.

What they might look like:

• “Respond to project Polos by EOD your time.”

• “No Slack replies expected faster than 4 hours unless tagged urgent.”

What is a hybrid work model?

Hybrid work models blend remote work with in-office days. This could mean your team is in the office four days a week and remote one day, or that some employees work entirely from home while others come in every day. 

A hybrid work model is a flexible structure that gives you the best of both worlds. A Stanford University study of over 1,600 employees at Trip.com found that a structured hybrid work schedule had zero negative impact on productivity or career advancement, and drastically boosted retention. Managers who started out skeptical reversed their opinions by the end of the trial.

The head researcher from this study shared:

Ideal for:

• Teams transitioning from office to remote work or vice versa

• Companies looking to reduce full-time office expenses

• Businesses that want to balance flexibility and structure 

• Cross-functional teams needing periodic alignment

• Creative teams that ideate best in person but execute remotely

• Client-facing businesses that benefit from in-person interaction

• Companies rebuilding post-pandemic culture

• Leadership teams experimenting with workplace policy

Benefits:

• Flexibility around working location

• Maintains some in-person connection/collaboration

• Reduces the need for full-time office space

Challenges:

• Coordination conflicts between remote and in-office teams

• Access to leadership and influence over decisions could vary based on work location 

• Meetings and cultural events skew toward those in the office

How to make it work

If hybrid work sounds like a fit for your team, here are some ideas you can try to work around the challenges of hybrid work models and succeed.

1. Designate "anchor days" instead of random office visits.

   Pick one or two days per week when everyone is in-office for collaborative work, leaving the rest for focused remote time. This creates scheduling predictability and structure while giving staff and clients clarity on in-person availability.

2. Assign "remote advocates" in leadership.

   Designate one or two team members to represent remote staff in project planning, team rituals, or product decisions, and communicate via asynchronous video messages. This gives hybrid workers a voice in decisions on their remote days. 

   
   Pro tip: Rotate this role quarterly to share the responsibility and get fresh perspectives.

3. Start meetings with three-minute async roundup.

   Before a team or company meeting, ask your hybrid staff members joining remotely to submit a 30-second Polo with a summary of their questions or priorities. This levels the playing field, allowing quiet contributors to occasionally set the tone of meetings and influence the agenda.

4. Split cultural events between sync + async.

   Culture doesn’t have to be calendar-based. Try having your semi-remote workforce structure alternate between live, in-person gatherings and async, all-team experiences (like async talent shows on Marco Polo or collaborative Spotify playlists). This way, all hybrid employees can have a chance to participate.

What is a flex work model?

Similar to hybrid work models, flex remote work combines in-office and at-home days. But unlike hybrid models that usually follow a set schedule, flex work lets employees decide which days they come into the office. There’s still a central workplace, but remote work happens on each employee’s terms.

That level of choice is becoming the norm. According to a recent study by Atlassian:

55% of knowledge workers can now choose daily between working remotely or in-office, and 51% are no longer tied to living in the same city as their office. 

Ideal for:

• Local teams wanting to maintain face-to-face connections 

• Roles needing consistent collaboration 

• Leaders wanting to offer flexibility and an in-person culture

• Companies easing into more flexible work policies

• Teams with rotating schedules or space limitations

• Customer support or operations teams needing coverage

• Creative or content teams needing long blocks of focus

Benefits:

• Work/life balance without losing in-person connection

• More autonomy and flexibility 

• Collaboration without rigid schedule rules 

Challenges:

• Harder to know when people will be in the office 

• Collaboration could exclude remote teammates 

• Inconsistent schedules could reduce team camaraderie

How to make it work

Try these strategies to get the most from a flex work model.

1. Encourage "core hours" instead of the same hours.

   When employees are doing remote work vs. hybrid work, it’s smart to agree on a 2–4 hour block of “overlap hours” each day (like 11 AM to 3 PM local) where everyone tries to be available across locations for Slack replies, Polos, and calls on the fly. 

   This simple agreement keeps response times reasonable and team energy synced without 9-to-5 conformity. 

2. Document everything like it's remote-first.

   Remote teammates can miss key decisions on their flex days. So even if half the team is in the office, treat documentation like no one is. This prevents knowledge siloes, exclusion, and repeated questions.
   
   In action: Make shared docs, meeting notes, and Polos the standard for documenting summaries and action items. A team lead could use a “Meeting Minutes” Marco Polo thread to recap the main takeaway from any in-office discussion.

3. Offer culture care packages for remote workers.

   When team members are working remotely during a culture event, make them feel equally considered by sending monthly or quarterly culture care packages with any tangible goodies they may have missed. 

   This could be as simple as sending your flex workers a DoorDash credit for lunch on the day your office catered food for a meeting, or mailing them brand swag from a company off-site if they won’t be in again soon. At a minimum, create a Polo of their coworkers telling them they’re missed during the activity. 

4. Create a "digital office" dashboard.

   Outline the current week’s meeting links, work locations, PTO schedules, lunch orders, project check-ins, and rituals using a shared Notion, Trello board, or intranet page. This centralizes hybrid logistics for flexible remote work models and reduces communication headaches. 

   In practice: A 15-person team could keep a pinned Google Doc in Slack that indicates “Who’s where this week?” with links to async Marco Polo updates and what’s happening IRL so no one feels out of the loop.

What is a distributed team model?

Distributed teams' remote work models are also similar to fully remote models. But while fully remote teams are geographically close, distributed teams are spread across cities, states, and countries. 

Many startups use this type of remote work setup to reach talent in different areas, not just where they're based. It helps them work around the clock, understand local markets better, and hire people more flexibly. However, it can also make it trickier to keep everyone on the same page, communicating well, and building a strong team culture.

Ideal for:

• International or product-focused teams 

• Remote-first teams that already operate under asynchronous communication

• Engineering, support, or operations teams requiring continuous coverage

• Boutique agencies or consultancies working with clients across geographies

• Startups aiming to scale with a lean, global team

• Research, nonprofit, or policy teams collaborating across continents

Benefits:

• Access to global talent and regional expertise 

• Diverse, well-rounded teams 

• Eliminates office investments

Challenges:

• Time zone collaboration 

• Impact on company culture 

• Requires planning for coordination and decision-making

How to make it work

Distributed remote work models can be fantastic for small teams when implemented with a few of these strategies in place.

1. Implement "virtual co-location" days.

   Once a month, pick a day when everyone overlaps for at least 4 hours, no matter the time zone, so the team can engage in casual coworking via live Marco Polo video streaming. This can be a fun way to rebuild presence and synchronous energy without forcing regular overlap that burns people out.

2. Highlight "quiet wins" publicly.

   Start a shared Slack channel or Polo thread to spotlight progress others may not notice, so there’s more visibility for quiet contributors and a stronger recognition culture. 

   Example: “Shoutout to Sam for cleaning up the backend flow quietly this week! This will save us a ton of time in the next sprint.”

3. Use "rolling updates" instead of daily standups.

   Instead of a fixed-time standup, use a daily async thread or Polo channel where distributed teams post updates when they log on. This keeps everyone in the know without the messiness of scheduling meetings across time zones.

   Example: A five-person remote workforce structure across three continents can use a daily check-in Polo thread, where each member shares their daily plan and any obstacles. Everyone watches it once they log on.

4. Async brainstorms with templates + video context.

   If a distributed team needs to brainstorm, one person can create a digital whiteboard or shared doc, record a Polo explaining their idea, and invite feedback over 48 hours in place of a live brainstorming call. This keeps the energy of brainstorming while respecting time differences and deeper thinking.

   Example: A four-person strategy team can brainstorm Q4 campaign themes using Miro. The creative lead records a Polo walking through the board. Then, others add ideas or questions async and review them together during their virtual co-location day or overlap window.

Choosing the right remote work model for your organization

Whether you’re debating between remote work vs. hybrid work or considering a flex model, there’s no single right answer for which model is the best, but you can still find a remote workforce structure that’s right for your team. To make the best choice, think about:

• Team size and work roles 

• How much collaboration needs to happen daily 

• Your clients and their needs 

• Time zones and geographical locations 

• Team preferences and work styles 

You may find that your ideal solution combines pieces from different types of remote work setups, like coming to the office once or twice a month while maintaining a remote-first expectation. 

No matter what you choose, be clear on your expectations and keep open communication with your teams to ensure your processes are still working.

Where Marco Polo fits in

Whatever your team’s remote setup, people thrive when communication is clear, personal, inclusive, and low-effort. That’s where Marco Polo comes in. 

Marco Polo Pro is a video-first, asynchronous messaging platform built for modern work. It gives everyone a voice and helps teams stay close without the burden of constant meetings or the confusion of text-only threads.  Just record a quick video update, thought, or question, and send it off. Your teammate can watch and respond when it works for them.

Since 2012, we’ve used it ourselves as a fully remote company to work across time zones, build culture, and keep projects moving with fewer meetings and more meaning. It helps us stay connected in ways that feel like being together, without needing to be online at once.

Here’s how teams benefit from Marco Polo across different remote work models:

• Fully remote teams use Marco Polo to replace meeting fatigue and message confusion with face-to-face clarity. Async video helps teammates stay in sync, build trust, and share updates with tone and context without scheduling. It’s a culture-builder and clarity-booster in one.

• For hybrid teams, Marco Polo bridges the gap between remote and in-office days. They record videos sharing hallway decision recaps, post async project check-ins, and build rapport with casual, personal updates. It’s inclusive and connected without live attendance.

• Flex teams rely on Marco Polo to keep communication flowing when people are in and out of the office on different days. Morning kickoffs, async wins, and project updates help prevent gaps wherever teammates work.

• Distributed teams using Marco Polo can collaborate across time zones without forcing live meetings. They brainstorm, share feedback, and connect personally on their schedules for deeper input and strategic alignment from anywhere.

Marco Polo, along with project management and planning tools, makes any remote work model easier. With our app, teams can work together remotely while staying aligned and connected without losing flexibility and autonomy.

Make remote work models work for you

Around 58% of U.S. employees can do some type of remote work. It’s clear that remote work is here to stay, and your team can be successful with it when you have the right structures in place. Whether it’s a fully remote, hybrid, flex, or distributed work model, the keys to making it work are clarity, communication, and consistency. 

When you’re ready to make a remote work model successful for your team, Marco Polo Pro is here to help. 

Key takeaways

• Remote work isn’t one-size-fits-all. There are four main models: fully remote, hybrid, flex, and distributed. Each offers different structures for collaboration, autonomy, and in-person interaction.

• Clarity, communication, and consistency are essential. No matter which model you choose, clearly defined expectations and communication norms help teams stay aligned.

• The right tools make remote work smoother. Platforms like Marco Polo Pro, Slack, and Trello support asynchronous updates, collaboration, and team cohesion, eliminating the need for unnecessary meetings.

• Flexibility pays off. With the right model and support, remote work can reduce costs, improve satisfaction, and give teams more control over how they work best.