The Changing Nature of Where and How We Work

Remote working and hybrid working are no longer unusual and clearly have benefits such as staff retention and wellbeing. There is also a potentially large cost-saving for employers who no longer need such large corporate premises. In fact, in my home town I've seen many prior office blocks turned into apartments! However, there are always two sides to every situation and remote or hybrid working doesn't suit everyone: employers or employees.

Of course, there are some businesses that will always require their employees to be physically present: hospitality, retail, healthcare etc. For many others they continue to navigate the evolving way they can productively run a profitable business.

However, a well-known Microsoft survey suggested that working from home made it difficult for different teams to collaborate. The same survey also highlighted that employees' views on remote or hybrid working vary significantly at a personal level: split between some people having a better work-life balance and others finding it impossible to switch off. The caveat here is that this much-referenced survey was done in 2021, and the world of work is a very different place now.

A 2024 survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) gives a more recent perspective on hybrid working as well as a more representative view across industries. It reveals that in fact the majority of people work full-time in the workplace and only a minority - albeit a significant one - follow a hybrid working pattern.

What type of people tend to have a hybrid working pattern?

The ONS survey showed that 28% of people in the UK were hybrid working i.e. working part of the week at home and the rest at a workplace. But that significant percentage obscures the fact that many industries require employees to be present in the workplace (retail, hospitality, healthcare, for instance) and also, perhaps more interestingly, that the seniority level of employees significantly impacts their ability (and perhaps desire) to work part of the time from home. People over 30 years old and those with children are also more likely to work from home for at least part of the time.

You can see in the ONS graph below how working patterns vary by industry and the seniority of the employee.

Improved staff well-being is the most often cited reason for hybrid-working, according to the ONS Business Insights and Conditions Survey. But those businesses do, of course, have profitable enterprises to run - as, I assume, do many of those reading this article. So, employee well-being has to result in better outcomes for the business.

Hybrid working and productivity

There are different opinions across different industries about the impact of hybrid working on productivity. Many businesses are concerned about the long-term impact of hybrid working on productivity. A study by MIT suggests 15% of businesses believe hybrid working is already having a negative impact on productivity - a minority, for sure, but not insignificant. Some of the reasons for this are:

• It's harder to collaborate with different teams/departments
• There are more distractions when working from home
• It is harder to generate new ideas

What's important to stress is that productivity levels have been a challenge for many UK businesses for a long time since it stalled after the 2008 global financial crisis. So, productivity concerns are not just about whether people work remotely or not. Nevertheless, there are relatively simple solutions already employed by some organisations to bridge any real or perceived issue around hybrid working and productivity.

Addressing productivity concerns

There is evidence to suggest that when geographically dispersed teams of people work temporarily in the same location that this can boost productivity and innovation. Business travel aimed at boosting productivity is increasingly seen as a strategic tool in our technological age where tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom have revolutionised the way in which we communicate. When different teams come together to work in the same location this offers the sort of face-to-face interactions that can result in genuine innovation. All without the need for people to permanently relinquish hybrid or remote working.

So, perhaps ironically, returning to more business travel combined with hybrid working may provide some measure of a solution. (I'll park the thought that lack of investment - both capital and skills - may be playing a part in lower productivity levels in the UK).

In the meantime, building stronger relationships with both clients and internal teams by getting together more often could:

• Enhance collaboration and communication in terms of problem-solving, strategic planning, creativity and innovation.
• Enhance personal growth and development by improving focus and motivation and making it easier to share knowledge and experience.

Will there be a full-time return to the workplace anytime soon?

This seems unlikely in the traditional sense that most of us have previously experienced in our working lives. But it would be good to know the thoughts of businesses here - especially in different industries.