Hybrid working sticking around, says new survey

Hybrid working isn’t going anywhere, according to a new survey by the Chartered Management Institute – a leading UK-based professional institution. Polling 1,237 managers, 84% said their firms had adopted flexible working practices, including giving staff the choice of which days to work remotely. Two thirds of respondents said the change was prompted by the pandemic, which has seen a seismic shift in both working cultures and employee attitudes towards the ‘traditional office’.

Speaking to the BBC, CMI Chief Executive Ann Francke said: “We’re not saying everyone should work from home 100% of the time, we’re saying the best practice is to have a blend, so when you come into the office you can do those things that are very difficult to do remotely…It would be very short sighted of bosses not to see some correlation in the shift in the working world and the move towards hybrid.”

Of those polled, 41% represented the private sector, while 59% worked for public or non-profit businesses – with the results suggesting that sectors including trades, factories and transport were less likely to offer more adaptable working arrangements.

Also speaking to the BBC, Aoife Fitzmaurice, Chief of Staff at accounting and payroll company Sage, said that there has been “huge demand” for hybrid models from employees and that a “framework of flexibility” is increasingly an expectation.