AN UPDATE ON
FLEXIBLE AND
HYBRID WORKING
PRACTICES

ReportApril 2022

The CIPD is the professional body for HR and people
development. The registered charity champions better work
and working lives and has been setting the benchmark forexcellence in people and organisation development for
more than 100 years. It has more than 160,000 members
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professional training and accreditation for those working in
HR and learning and development.

An update on flexible and hybrid working practices

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ReportAn update on flexible and hybrid
working practices
Contents
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Summary of key findings

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Implications and recommendations

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Employer perspective

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Employee perspective

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Background to the surveys

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Acknowledgements
The CIPD is incredibly grateful to the organisations and individuals who gave their timeand expertise to provide case studies for this report. These include:• Jessica Badley, Head of HR & OD, Blood Cancer UK• Lisa Freshwater, Director of Organisational Effectiveness, Blood Cancer UK• David Blackburn, Chief People Officer, FSCS
• Arjian Punnialingam, MI & Analytics Manager, FSCS
• Jessica Cooney, Marketing Manager, The Sovini Group• Steven Scott, Head of HR, The Sovini Group• Laura Cole, Head of HR, UK & Europe, Standard Chartered Bank
• Sonia Rossetti, Regional Head, Corporate Affairs and Brand & Marketing for Europe
and the Americas, Standard Chartered Bank
Claire McCartney, Senior Resourcing and Inclusion Adviser at the CIPD, wrote this report.
Thanks also to Annette Hogarth, research consultant, for conducting and writing thecase studies.

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Summary of key findings

Wider flexible working
Increase in requests for flexible working• There has been an increase in employers supporting and already providing a day one
right to request flexible working (FW).
• More than a third (37%) have seen an increase in requests for FW in the last six months.
• Over half of organisations (56%) believe that it is important to provide flexible working
as an option when advertising jobs. They see this as a key way of attracting staff andaddressing skill or labour shortages.
• More than two-fifths of organisations (42%) say they will be more likely to grant
requests for flexible working, besides working from home, compared with before thepandemic (March 2020).
Over half of employees have flexible working arrangements• Just over half of employees (51%) say they have flexible working arrangements (FWA) intheir current role. Women (55%) are more likely than men (47%) to have FWA.
Those with FWAs are more satisfied than those without in a range of work-related areas• Those employees who have flexible working arrangements in their current role are
more likely to be satisfied than those who don’t, including in relation to their work–lifebalance, control over work, their job overall and their line manager.
Job satisfaction greater for those with both formal and informal FWA• Almost half (45%) of employees with an FWA describe this as informal, just a quarter
describe it as formal, with a further 28% describing their FWA as a combination offormal and informal.
• Employees with a mixture of formal and informal FWA are more satisfied than thosewith either formal or informal arrangements on a range of work-related areas, including
their work–life balance, manager and job.
Increase in the types of flexible working arrangements offered• Currently, organisations are most likely to offer part-time hours (61%), working fromhome on a regular basis (57%) and flexitime (38%).
• Organisations plan to expand a range of flexible working arrangements, including
working from home on a regular basis (46%), part-time working (38%), flexitime (37%),
full-time homeworking (25%) and job-sharing (18%).
• Working from home on a regular basis (61%) and informal flexibility (43%) are the mostcommon types of flexibility employees report. However, when asked what arrangements
people would use, if possible, in their roles, the highest number would like flexitime(42%), working from home on a regular/ad hoc basis (40%), informal flexibility (38%)
and compressed hours (32%).
Lack of flexibility prompting job and career changes for some
• Four per cent of employees say they have left a job in the last year specifically due to alack of flexible working and 9% have changed their careers/profession due to a lack offlexible working options within the sector.

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Summary of key findings

An update on flexible and hybrid working practices

Hybrid working

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A fifth of workforces expected to work from home all the time, and two-fifths toregularly work from home
• Since the start of the pandemic, 46% of employees have worked from home all or mostof the time, while 37% have not worked from home at all.
• On average, organisations expect around a fifth (21%) of their workforce to work fromhome all the time once the crisis is over, while they expect 40% of their workforce towork from home on a regular basis.
Improvements in organisational productivity• There have been improvements in organisational productivity, with more than two-fifths(41%) of organisations who say homeworking has increased now believing that more
home/hybrid working has increased their organisation’s productivity/efficiency.
• Employee productivity also remains steady, with more than two-fifths (43%) thinking
that employees in their organisation are generally more productive when they are
working from home/in a hybrid way.
• Overall, the findings show substantial improvements from when we surveyed on this issue in December 2020, when a third (33%) of employers said that the increase in homeworking had increased their organisation’s productivity/efficiency, while 23% said that it
had decreased it.
Organisations continue to invest in hybrid working• Almost two-fifths (39%) are seeking to put in place additional measures or investment
to enable more hybrid or homeworking in the next 6–12 months.
• Organisations are looking to implement a range of measures to support hybrid or
homeworking in the future – most notably a greater investment in the quality of technology(54%), a change of organisational policy to promote more remote working (53%), and more
online guidance for line managers in managing and supporting homeworking (52%).
Benefits and challenges of hybrid working• When it comes to the key benefits of shifting to increased homeworking or hybrid
working, respondents point to: improved work–life balance (69%), improved employee
satisfaction (48%), improved business flexibility and improved employee wellbeing (41%).
• Some of the top issues faced as a result of the shift to increased home or hybrid working
include: increased stress or mental health problems due to working remotely (44%),difficulty in working as expected for employees who lack space or privacy (43%), andemployee conflict due to the challenges of communication and team relationships (34%).
Potential mismatch between employee and employer preferences• Organisations think that being on site/in the office for approximately 40% of the time
would be most popular with their employees (23%). If we then compare that withwhat organisations view as their preferred approach for their workforce, the highest
proportion (25%) would like employees to be in the office/on site all the time.
• Over half (54%) of employees themselves expect to be in the workplace for all or mostof the time once the pandemic has passed and all restrictions have ended. Yet, when
asked about their preferences, two-fifths (39%) would like to work from home all ormost of the time going forward.

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Summary of key findings

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Lack of consultation• More than three-fifths (63%) of employees who are able to work in a hybrid way haven’t
been asked how they would like to work moving forward; the remaining (37%) say they
have been asked.
Concerns about inclusion risks from employers and employees• A substantial 48% of organisations say they are concerned about inclusion risks if employees
move to hybrid or homeworking, while a similar proportion (46%) are not concerned.
• Almost a quarter (24%) of employees who are able to work from home/in a hybrid way
are concerned about being treated less favourably if they work in this way comparedwith colleagues always in the workplace.

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I mplications andrecommendations

Organisations
1 Implement internal policies that allow your employees to request flexible working fromday one of employment and, wherever possible, stipulate in job adverts that jobs can bedone flexibly, attracting a wider pool of candidates who are looking for flexible roles.
2 Raise awareness of different forms of flexible working, such as compressed hours andjob-sharing, and explore how they can be effective in roles that have traditionally been
seen as non-flexible.
3 Consult and collaborate with employees when designing hybrid working practices.
Develop clear and transparent policies and principles about eligibility for – andaccess to – hybrid working, and establish systems to monitor decision-making andaccess. Undertake ongoing listening activity with workers, managers and worker
representatives to learn the lessons of hybrid, and continue to review, adapt andimprove your approach.
4 Assess organisation risks relating to equality and inclusion and develop an action plan
to ensure that hybrid working supports inclusion. Include inclusion in every aspectof hybrid working implementation. Ensure equality of opportunity for learning anddevelopment and reward and recognition, regardless of where and when people work.
5 Provide training to managers on how to manage hybrid teams effectively andsupport hybrid workers, including performance management, remote communication,
collaboration and relationship-building.

Policy-makers
1 Make the right to request flexible working a right from day one of employment.
Reconsider the stipulation that employees can only make a request every 12 months.
2 Support the Flexible Working Taskforce in its practices to increase access to – anduptake of – different forms of flexible working.
3 Work with organisations on myth-busting around flexible working to dispel the
notion that it cannot work for certain employees or job roles that traditionally are notconsidered flexible.

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Implications and recommendations

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4 Continue to support organisations moving to a hybrid way of working and ensure thatissues of employee inclusion and wellbeing are front and centre.
5 Lead by example by ensuring that the civil service becomes an exemplar of flexible
working, and by encouraging the wider public sector to create more flexible jobs.

3 	Employer perspective
Wider flexible working findings
A fifth taking steps to increase wider FWA
Just over a fifth (22%) are taking steps to increase other forms of flexible working over the
next 6–12 months, besides homeworking.
Increase in different types of flexible working arrangements offered
Organisations are most likely now to offer part-time hours (61%), working from home on aregular basis (57%) and flexitime (38%).
Since surveying in December 2020, more organisations now offer job-sharing (31%compared to 22%), compressed hours (33% compared to 27%), career breaks (29%compared to 22%), working from home regularly (57% compared to 50%), part-time hours(61% compared to 56%) and zero-hour contracts (18% compared to 12%).
Figure 1: Which flexible working arrangements, if any, does your organisation currently offer? (%)
61

Part‐time hours
Working from home on a regular basis(at least one time per week)

57
38

FlexitimeCompressed hours(for example 4-day week or 9-day fortnight)

33

Job‐sharing

31

Homeworking (always working from home)

31

Career breaks

29

Term‐time working

19

Zero‐hour contracts

18
13

Annualised hours
On‐call working

11

Not applicable, my organisation does notoffer any flexible working arrangements

10
2

Other
0

10

20

30

Base: n=1,196

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Employer perspective

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And organisations plan to expand a range of flexible working arrangements
Organisations are most likely to be looking to expand their use of:• working from home on a regular basis (at least once a week) (46%)• part-time working (38%)• flexitime (37%)• full-time homeworking (25%)• job-sharing (18%).
Reasons for increasing wider forms of flexible working
For those organisations planning to increase the uptake of wider forms of flexible working,key reasons include to:• support employees’ work–life balance (71%)• support employees’ mental health and wellbeing (67%)• improve their ability to attract and retain staff (66%).
Reasons for not increasing the uptake of wider forms of flexible working
Finally, there were two main reasons for organisations not planning to increase the uptakeof wider forms of flexible working. First, respondents felt that some of the jobs in theorganisation require specific hours, and flexible hours would be (perceived as) unfair if they
are not available to everyone (48%). The second main reason given was that this isn’t abusiness priority right now given the challenges facing their organisation (41%).

Hybrid working findings
Shift to working from home and hybrid working
Before the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the average mean proportion of theworkforce typically working from home (WFH) on a regular basis (for example at least oncea week) was 19%.
The average mean proportion currently working from home all the time as a result of thepandemic sits at 30%, while the average mean proportion working from home on a regularbasis (at least once a week) is 44%.
Around a fifth of workforces expected to work from home all the time and two-fifths toregularly work from home
Organisations expect around a fifth (21%) of their workforce to work from home all the timeonce the crisis is over, while they expect 40% of their workforce to work from home on aregular basis (at least once a week).
These figures are slightly more conservative than when we surveyed in December 2020,
when organisations were expecting 28% of their workforce to work from home all the timeonce the crisis is over and 45% of their workforce to work from home on a regular basis.

Perceived productivity from working from home/hybrid working
Improvements in organisational productivity/efficiency
Over two-fifths (41%) of employers who say homeworking has increased believe that theincrease in homeworking/hybrid working has increased their organisation’s productivity or
efficiency. Just 18% say that it has decreased their organisation’s productivity or efficiency.
There are no significant differences here across public, private and voluntary sectors;
however, manufacturing and construction is the industry that is most split on this issue, with28% maintaining it has increased their organisation’s productivity or efficiency and 28%

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Employer perspective

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saying the opposite. Larger organisations of 250+ employees (45%) are significantly more
likely than SMEs (32%) to say it has increased their organisation’s productivity or efficiency.
Overall, the findings show substantial improvements from when we surveyed on this issue in
December 2020,1 when a third (33%) of employers said that the increase in homeworking had
increased their organisation’s productivity/efficiency, while 23% said that it had decreased it.
Employee productivity remains steadyOver two-fifths (43%) think that employees in their organisation are generally moreproductive when they are working from home/in a hybrid way, while a fifth (20%) believe
they are less productive.
Respondents in the voluntary (51%) and public (50%) sectors are significantly more likely
to think employees are more productive when they are working from home/in a hybrid
way than those in the private (40%) sector. Respondents from larger organisations of
250+ employees are also significantly more likely (47%) to believe this than those from
SMEs (36%).
Table 1: Do you think employees in your organisation are generally more or less productive when they are
working from home/in a hybrid way? (%)
SME

PrivatesectorPublicsectorVoluntary
sectorMuch more productive

10

10

11

14

More productive

32

30

39

37

There is no difference in their productivity

34

37

25

29

Less productive

16

15

18

18

Much less productive

4

4

5

–

Don’t know

3

3

3

2

Net: More productive

43

40

50

51

Net: Less productive

20

20

22

18

Base: Employees more or less productive when working from home

1,011

758

174

80

Overall, the findings show a slight improvement on our data collected in December 2020,
where two-fifths (40%) thought that employees in their organisation were generally moreproductive when they are working from home, while just over a fifth (21%) thought they
were less productive.

Investment in hybrid working
Continued investment in hybrid working
Almost two-fifths (39%) of organisations surveyed are seeking to put in place additional
measures or investment to enable more hybrid or homeworking in the next 6–12 months.
Respondents in the voluntary (53%) and public (52%) sectors are significantly more
likely to put in place additional measures or investment to enable more hybrid
or homeworking than those in the private (34%) sector. Respondents from larger
organisations of 250+ employees are also significantly more likely (49%) to be investing
than those from SMEs (25%).

1Note the question in 2021 asked about home/hybrid working, while the question in 2020 just asked about homeworking.

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Employer perspective

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Overall this is slightly lower than when we surveyed in December 2020, when 47% werelooking to introduce additional measures and investment to enable more home and hybrid
working in the next 6–12 months.
Organisations implementing a range of measures to support hybrid working
Organisations are looking to implement a range of measures to support hybrid or
homeworking in the near future. Most popular amongst those seeking to put in place
additional measures are a greater investment in the quality of technology (54%), to changeorganisational policy to promote more remote working (53%), to provide more online
guidance for line managers in managing and supporting homeworking (52%), and make agreater investment in the quantity of technology (such as more laptops) (51%).
Other popular choices include more line manager training in managing and supporting
homeworkers (47%), identifying where any inclusion risks may arise if employees move tohybrid working and how these can be mitigated (47%), and agreeing a minimum numberof working from home days a week with employees (45%).
Figure 2: What additional measures does your organisation plan to put in place to support hybrid or
homeworking in the future? (%)
Greater investment in quality of technology,
eg more up‐to‐date technology

54

Change of organisational policy to promote more
remote working

53

More online guidance (advice, organisational
protocols, FAQs, etc) for line managers in managing
and supporting homeworkers

52

Greater investment in quantity of technology,
eg more laptops

51

More line management training in managing andsupporting homeworkers

47

Identifying where any inclusion risks may arise if
employees move to hybrid working and how thesecan be mitigated47

Agree minimum number of working from homedays a week with employees

45

Make employer contributions to necessary
desk/equipment purchases

40

Changes to contracted place of work for employees
who are WFH continuously/all the time30
25

Adapting performance management system
Make employer contributions to increased bills,
eg heating linked to homeworking

8
2

Other
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Base: All employers who would put additional measures in place (463)Issues related to home and hybrid working
Some of the top issues faced as a result of the shift to increased home or hybrid working
include: increased stress or mental health problems through people working remotely(44%), difficulty in working as expected for employees who lack space or privacy whenworking from home (43%) , and employee conflict due to the challenges of communicationand team relationships while remote/homeworking (34%).

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Employer perspective

An update on flexible and hybrid working practices

Figure 3: Has your organisation faced any of the following issues as a result of the shift to increased
homeworking/hybrid working? (%)

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2
3

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5

Increased stress or mental health problems, such as
anxiety or depression, through people working remotely

44

Difficulty in working as expected for employees who lackspace or privacy when working from home

43

Employee conflict due to challenges of communicationand team relationships while remote/homeworking

34

Difficulty of conducting appropriate workplace risk
assessments for people working from home

31

Reduced productivity as a result of poor internet
connectivity

29

Difficulties associated with conducting display screen
equipment workstation assessments for homeworkers

28

Concerns over cyber/data security through employees
using non-secure systems

28
20

No – our organisation hasn’t faced any challenges
Increased administrative time associated with having to
make changes to employment contracts

13
3

Other

10

0

20

30

40

50

Base: All employers who say that homeworking has increased (753)

Benefits of home and hybrid working
When it comes to the key organisation benefits of shifting to increased homeworking or
hybrid working, employers surveyed point to improved work–life balance for employees(69%), improved employee satisfaction (48%) and improved business flexibility (41%).
Improved employee wellbeing is also a key benefit for over a third (36%).
Figure 4: Which, if any, of the following has your organisation benefited from as a result of the shift
to increased homeworking or hybrid working? (%)
69

Improved work–life balance for employees

48

Improved employee satisfaction

41

Improved business flexibility
Improved employee wellbeing

36

Increased ability to retain employees

29

Increased ability to attract new employees

28

Increased employee performance

26

Better collaboration and work relationships

19

Not applicable – my organisation has not beenable to facilitate home or hybrid working

5
3

Other
0

10

20

30

Base: All employers who say that homeworking has increased (753)9

Employer perspective

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An update on flexible and hybrid working practices

Hybrid: ways of working

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Potential mismatch between employee and employer preferences
When considering a hybrid working pattern, employers surveyed were most likely to thinkthat being on site/in the office for approximately 40% of the time would be most popularwith their employees (23%). Eighteen per cent point to being on site/in the office for 60%of the time and 16% think their employees would want to be in the office/on site for 20%of the time.
If we then compare that with what organisations view as their preferred approach for theirworkforce as an employer, the highest proportion (25%) would like employees to be in theoffice/on site all the time. Seventeen per cent point to being in the office/on site for 60%of the time. However, 15% say they don’t have a preference – it will depend on what works
best for the individual employees and the teams and part of the business they work within.
Respondent organisations in the private sector (28%) are significantly more likely thanthose in the voluntary (11%) and public (18%) sectors to prefer employees in the office/on site all the time as are respondents in SMEs (34%) compared with those in larger
organisations with 250+ employees (18%). Those in the voluntary (25%) and public (20%)
sectors are significantly more likely than those in the private sector (13%) to indicate thatthey don’t have a preference and it will depend on circumstances.

Hybrid working and inclusion risks
Half of organisations worried about hybrid working inclusion risks
Organisations are fairly split when it comes to being worried about inclusion risks if
employees move to hybrid or homeworking.
By inclusion risks, we are referring to the fact that those working remotely or part
remotely through choice or necessity might be treated differently from those in thephysical workspace when it comes to things like project work and career development andprogression.
Almost half (48%) say they are concerned (including 10% who say they are very
concerned), while a similar proportion (46%) are not concerned (including 17% who say
they are ‘not concerned at all’).
Those in the public sector (57%) are significantly more likely to be concerned thanrespondents in the private sector (45%). Those from larger organisations of 250+
employees (54%) are also significantly more likely to be concerned about inclusion risks
than those from SMEs (39%).

4 	Employee perspective
Flexible working arrangements
Over half have FWA in their role
Just over half of employees (51%) say they have flexible working arrangements in theircurrent role. More women (55%) than men (47%) are likely to have FWA.

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Employee perspective

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Figure 5: Current flexible arrangements (%)

1
2

25

3

4

5

51

Yes, I do
24

No, I don’t
Not applicable – myorganisation does notoffer any flexible working
arrangements

Base: n=2,166

A quarter (25%) say their organisation does not offer any flexible working arrangements.
Respondents are most likely to say this if they are from the hospitality and leisure sector(45%), retail (39%), transport and distribution (36%) and medical and health services (36%).
Those with FWA are more satisfied on a range of work-related areas
Those employees who have flexible working arrangements in their current role are more
likely to be satisfied than those who don’t in a range of different areas. This includes
satisfaction with their:• work–life balance (76% vs 60%)
• control over their work (64% vs 46%)
• job (68% vs 56%)
• manager (70% vs 57%).
They are even more likely to be satisfied than those without FWA in their current role with
their opportunities for progression (39% vs 30%) and their salary (56% vs 45%).

Formal and informal flexibility
Respondents who have an FWA in their current role were asked how best they would
describe this arrangement. We define ‘formal flexibility’ as an FWA that is formally agreed
with the line manager and included in their employment contract. For ‘informal flexibility’
this is defined as the ability to change hours or location on an ‘as needed’ basis informallyagreed with the line manager.
Almost half describe their flexible working arrangement as ‘informal’
Over two-thirds (45%) described this as informal, just a quarter (25%) described this asformal, with 28% describing their FWA as a combination of formal and informal.

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Employee perspective

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Figure 6: Formality of flexible work arrangements (%)

1
2

1
26
29

3

FormalInformal

4

5

Both formal and informal
45

Don’t know/can’t recall

Base: n=1,104

There are no significant differences between men and women in terms of likelihood
to have formal arrangements, but women (48%) are more likely to have informal
arrangements than men (41%), and men (32%) are more likely to have a combination than
women (25%). Employees at micro (67%) and small organisations (43%) are also more
likely to have informal arrangements than their counterparts at large organisations (40%),or medium organisations (41%) and the opposite is true for formal arrangements (micro:
11%; SMEs: 21%; large: 30%).
We also asked all respondents whether they would like informal or formal flexibility or
a combination of the two. Almost a quarter (24%) opted for a combination of the two,closely followed by 23% who would like informal flexibility and 16% who would likeformal flexibility.
Figure 7: Desire for flexible work arrangements (%)
16

I would want formal flexibility

23

I would want informal flexibility

24

I would want both informal and formal flexibility

14

I would want either informal or formal flexibility
Don’t know
Base: n=533

23
0

10

20

30

Employees with a mixture of formal and informal FWA are more satisfied on a range ofwork-related areas
Employees who describe their current FWA as a combination of formal and informal
flexibility are most satisfied with their:• work–life balance (80%; informal 77%; formal 72%)
• manager (75%; informal 70%; formal 64%)
• job (71%; informal 69%; formal 64%).

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Employee perspective

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Regularly working from home and informal flexibility are the most common types offlexibility
Of those with FWA, around 3 in 5 are likely to be working from home on a regular or ad
hoc basis (61%), 2 in 5 have informal flexibility (43%), a third work from home fully (35%)
and a quarter make use of flexitime (23%).
Figure 8: Which, if any, of the following flexible working arrangements do you currently use? (%)
61

Working from home on a regular and/or ad hoc basis
Informal flexibility (ie the ability to change hours or
location on an as needed basis informally agreed
with your line manager)

43
35

Homeworking (always working from home)
Flexitime (ie a system of working a set number ofhours with the starting and finishing times chosen
within agreed limits by the employee)

23

Part‐time hours

15

Compressed hours (eg 4‐day fortnight)

4

Annualised hours (ie a set number of contracted
hours in a year)3

Zero‐hour contracts (ie no guaranteed minimum
working hours)

2

Don’t know

2Term‐time working

1

Job‐sharing

1

Career breaks

1

Other

1
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Base: All UK employees with a FWA (1,099)

However, when asked what arrangements people would use, if possible, in their roles, thehighest number would like flexitime (42%), working from home on a regular/ad hoc basis(40%), informal flexibility (38%) and compressed hours (32%).

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Employee perspective

An update on flexible and hybrid working practices

Figure 9: Which, if any, of the following flexible working arrangements would you use if possible inyour role? (%)

1
2
3

4

Flexitime (ie a system of working a set number ofhours with the starting and finishing times chosen
within agreed limits by the employee)

42Working from home on a regular and/or ad hoc basis

40

Informal flexibility (ie the ability to change hours or
location on an as needed basis informally agreed
with your line manager)

38
32

Compressed hours (eg 4‐day fortnight)

29

Homeworking (always working from home)21

Part‐time hours

5

Career breaks

17

Don’t know

16

Annualised hours (ie a set number of contracted
hours in a year)13

Term‐time working

8

Job‐sharing

5

Zero‐hour contracts (ie no guaranteed minimum
working hours)

2

Other

2
10

0

Base: All UK employees (2,166)

20

30

40

50

Working from home
Since the start of the pandemic, 45% of employees have worked from home all or mostof the time
From the start of the COVID-19 pandemic up until now, almost a quarter of employees(23%) have worked from home all the time, a similar proportion have worked from homemost of the time (22%), while 37% have not worked from home at all.
Figure 10: How often, if at all, have you worked from home since the start of the pandemic? (%)
All of the time

23

Most of the time

22
17

Some of the time

37

None of the time
0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Base: All UK employees (2,166)

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Employee perspective40

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Those who have not worked from home at all are most likely to say (85%) that this isbecause the nature of their job does not allow them to. Almost one in ten (9%) say thenature of their job would allow them to but their employer/manager does not allow it. Just
2% say they don’t have suitable working from home environments and a further 2% don’t
like working from home because they feel isolated or unhappy.

Perceptions of fairness
We asked employees to consider a number of different statements about flexible andhybrid working. The findings underline the importance of providing flexible working
options for those who can and can’t work remotely.
Providing flexibility to those who can and can’t work remotely
Seventy-six per cent of employees believe it is important that those who can’t work fromhome can work flexibly in other ways. Only 4% of employees disagree with this.
Just over 2 in 5 (43%) of employees also believe that it is unfair that some people canwork from home while others have to continue to attend their employer’s workplace andhave little flexibility. Over a quarter (27%) of employees disagree with this.
Current level of flexibility and choice
Fifty-five per cent say they are able to work flexibly in a way that best suits their life at the
moment; a quarter (25%) of employees disagree with this. Women (58%) are more likely
to say this than men (52%) and younger employees are more likely to say this than older
employees (66% under 25s vs 48% amongst over 55s).
Forty-two per cent say their employer seeks to provide choice to people over when
and where they work; however, almost a third of employees (31%) disagree with this.
Employees in larger organisations of 250+ are more likely to agree (47%) than thosein small and micro (38%) organisations. There are no gender differences, but younger
employees are more likely to say their employer provides them with choice than older
employees (49% for under 25s vs 37% amongst over 55s).
Most believe the pandemic will lead to greater flexible working in the long term
Seventy-seven per cent believe the pandemic will lead to long-term change towards more
flexible working; just 6% disagree with this. Women (80%) are more likely than men (74%)
to believe this. Those in larger organisations (81%) are more likely to say this than those insmall (73%) and micro (71%) organisations.

15

Employee perspective

An update on flexible and hybrid working practices

Hybrid working

1

Figure 11: Working arrangement once pandemic restrictions have ended (%)

2

In the office/workplace all the time3

In the office/workplace most of the time

4

In the office/workplace and at home/remotely equally5

Working from home/remotely most of the time

41
25
13
12
14
19
17

Expected working
arrangement once
pandemic restrictions
have ended

22
9Working from home/remotely all the time

Preferred working
arrangement once
pandemic restrictions
have ended

17
6

Don’t know

5
0

10

20

30

40

50

Base: All UK employees (2,166)

Over half expect to be in the workplace for all or most of the time
Once the pandemic restrictions have ended, 41% expect to be in the office or workplace
all the time and a further 13% expect to be there most of the time.
Men are slightly more likely to expect to be in the workplace all the time vs women (42%vs 39%) and older employees are much more likely to say this than younger employees(52% amongst over 55s vs 25% under 35s).
Next most likely is working from home/remotely most of the time (17%), with a further 9%
expecting to do this all the time.
Yet, nearly two-fifths would like to work from home all or most of the time
However, when employees are asked what would be their preferred way of working, almost
two-fifths (39%) would like to work from home/remotely all or most of the time and 37%
would like to work in the office/workplace all or most of the time.
Men and older workers are most likely to want to be in the office all the timeMore men (28%) than women (21%) would like to work in the office/workplace all the time,
and the older an employee is, the more likely they are to want to do this (aged 18–24: 11%;
25–34: 14%; 35–44: 17%; 45–54: 26%; 55+: 38%).
Three-fifths of employees haven’t been asked how they would like to work moving forward
More than three-fifths (63%) of employees who are able to work in a hybrid way haven’t
been asked how they would like to work moving forward; the remainder (37%) say they
have been asked.
Almost a quarter are concerned about being treated less favourably
Almost a quarter (24%) of employees who are able to work from home/in a hybrid way
and are decided in their opinion are concerned about being treated less favourably if theywork in this way compared with colleagues always in the workplace.

16

Employee perspective

An update on flexible and hybrid working practices

12
3

Figure 12: To what extent, if at all, are you concerned about being treated less favourably if you
work from home/in a hybrid way, compared with colleagues always in the workplace? (%)
Very concerned

5Somewhat concerned

19

Not very concerned

37

Not concerned at all

39

4

24

Net: Concerned

76

Net: Not concerned

5

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Base: n=1,388 (excludes those who selected N/A or Don’t know)

Leaving jobs due to a lack of flexible working
Four per cent of employees say they have left a job in the last year specifically due to alack of flexible working, and 9% have changed their careers/profession due to a lack offlexible working options within the sector.
Women (12%) are more likely than men (7%) to say they have changed their careers/
professions for this reason.

5

Backgroundto the surveys
Employer survey 2021
This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered to members of the
YouGov Plc UK panel of 800,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.
The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide arepresentative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if notavailable from the census, from industry-accepted data.
The total sample size for this survey was 1,196 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between
27 October and 15 November 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures havebeen weighted and are representative of all employers.
Employer survey 2020
This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered to members of the
YouGov Plc UK panel of 800,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.
The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide arepresentative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if notavailable from the census, from industry-accepted data.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,133 seniordecision-makers in UK businesses. Fieldwork was undertaken between 10 December 2020
and 4 January 2021. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted
and are representative of the UK business population by size, sector, industry and nation.

17

Background to the surveys

An update on flexible and hybrid working practices

1
2
3

4

5

Employee survey 2022
This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered to members of the
YouGov Plc UK panel of 800,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.
The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide arepresentative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if notavailable from the census, from industry-accepted data.
The total sample size for this survey was 2,166 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between
27 January and 3 February 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been
weighted and are representative of British business size.
Employee survey 2020
This survey has been conducted using an online interview administered to members of the
YouGov Plc UK panel of 800,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys.
Emails are sent to panellists selected at random from the base sample. The email invites
them to take part in a survey and provides a generic survey link. Once a panel member
clicks on the link, they are sent to the survey that they are most required for, according to
the sample definition and quotas. (The sample definition could be ‘GB adult population’ or
a subset such as ‘GB adult females’.) Invitations to surveys don’t expire and respondents
can be sent to any available survey. The responding sample is weighted to the profile ofthe sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample. The profile is normallyderived from census data or, if not available from the census, from industry-accepted data.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2,127
GB employees. Fieldwork was undertaken from 22–31 December 2020. The survey was
carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB
adults (aged 18+).

18

Background to the surveys

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