Part 1
Hybrid Working
The workplace undergoes constant evolution, but the pandemic forced an expeditious and significant cultural shift that we could not have anticipated in late 2019. So how are businesses adapting to the ‘new norm’?
Most companies are embracing hybrid working with little appetite to return to the office full-time. Although some managers would have preferred a full return to the office, it was generally accepted that this would not be welcomed by workers.
Whilst a few businesses have implemented a formal hybrid working policy, with a requirement to attend the office for a specified numbers of days (and often on set days), most companies are taking a very flexible approach. There may be encouragement for staff to work in the office one to three days per week, but it is not common for anything to be mandated.
There is a recognition that as remote working was effective during the pandemic, and there is a clear preference from most staff to retain that flexibility, it would not be conducive to staff retention and wellbeing to take that flexibility away. However, very few employers have changed contracts to reflect hybrid working, seeking to retain flexibility through policies instead. Only a few businesses support fully remote working.
Conversely, some businesses who had offices open during lockdown have not endorsed the hybrid model, mainly because it was not forced on them during the pandemic. Such participants noted that whilst a lot of their work could be done remotely, they did not have the IT infrastructure in place. There were other organisations who do not support hybrid working, because managers believe that productivity is impacted when an individual works from home, although HR departments mainly disagreed with this view.
PRESSURE POINT: Productivity and performance issues can more easily arise when organisations have extremely flexible remote working policies and employee output is hard to measure.
Interestingly, a survey revealed that in December 2020, 33% of respondents said that home and hybrid working had increased productivity or efficiency. In October/November 2021, the same response increased to 41%[1]. Indeed, during the discussions there were no concerns expressed regarding productivity in businesses who had moved away from conventional working practices.
Whilst there may well be good reason why some employers cannot support hybrid working, hybrid working is now commonplace. A recent study showed that UK workers are going into the office an average of 1.5 days a week (compared to 3.8 days pre-covid)[2].
Several other benefits were associated with hybrid working. Most employees are relishing home working and the flexibility it provides. Employers recognised that staff felt better able to manage their work-life balance when working from home (particularly where this avoided a commute) and a certain amount of flexibility was provided in respect of hours of work. One participant noted that the business felt that allowing individuals to choose where to work could help reduce employees’ outgoings and was one way they could assist with the cost of living crisis.
[1] Growing number of employers report increased productivity as they embrace home and hybrid working, new CIPD research finds | CIPD
[2] Is hybrid working here to stay? - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
PRESSURE POINT: Some employers had offered working from home allowances which they removed on return to the office; this intensified staff reluctance to return. In addition, staff who moved out of town whilst working remotely are now quoting ESG as a reason not to commute into the office.
Of the organisations requiring workers back to the office at least some, if not all the time, most reported reluctance among employees to return. When seeking to attract employees back into office, emphasis was placed on the practical purpose of working in the office (collaborative working) rather than wishing to monitor staff more closely.
One attendee confirmed their US company was offering free food in the canteen to incentivise individuals back to the office, and another reported considering offering free parking. Despite press reports of some organisations offering a salary cut in return for fully remote working, no participants were considering such plans.
When implementing a hybrid working policy, it was noted that there is a balance to be had between those who feel their wellbeing is improved by being in the office and those who feel their wellbeing is improved by working from home. Some people are missing social interaction and feeling a lack of connection with their teams. Another difficulty faced by some businesses is ensuring that staff are not working excess hours from home, as some employees are working more than they do in the office, often leading to increased stress levels and reduced mental wellbeing.
Some participants were maintaining regular ‘check-ins’ that had commenced during lockdown, ensuring their team knew that from time to time they would call them to see how they were doing. There was also a need to be mindful of those who were working in warehouses or offices alone for substantial periods of time, both from a safety and a wellbeing perspective. For truly flexible organisations, such individuals could go days without seeing a colleague. Concern was also raised for ensuring effective integration and supervision for new starts.
The main challenge for almost all businesses was how to maintain the company culture, connectivity, and creativity in a remote or hybrid environment. The aim is to create opportunities for face-to-face collaboration and to ensure enough staff are in attendance to create those “water cooler moments”. Most teams were being asked to attend the office on the same day at least one day per week, whilst other organisations were only requesting attendance once or twice a month. HR also reported that for leadership it can sometimes be important to have staff in the office at the same time to hold face-to-face townhall meetings. Some organisations were not concerned about ensuring regular in-person meetings and felt that their staff responded best to autonomy.
There is also the difficulty that despite going into the office, many meetings are still taking place via virtual meeting platforms, particularly where individuals go in on days where office attendance is generally lower (Mondays and Fridays). Where individuals are in the office, the focus now is to encourage individuals back to meeting in person where possible. Often staff comment that it is more efficient to stay at their desk, rather than spend time going from one meeting to another. One participant confirmed that they have changed meeting times to 25 or 55 minutes to allow time to transition between meetings and for informal chat. The consensus was that sometimes more can be gained from a face-to-face meeting, because often you can’t read someone’s cues and feelings on virtual meetings. One attendee remarked that “you communicate on Teams, you don’t build relationships on Teams.”
PRESSURE POINT: The request to return to the office must be purpose driven to be credible and accepted by employees. The main rationale often cited by employers is team bonding and collaboration yet the trend towards downsizing office space means that it is often not possible for teams to sit together or even attend the office on the same day.
From a practical perspective, businesses with a lot of flexibility were finding that there were times when the office was extremely quiet. Some organisations had or were considering downsizing their office space, although there were concerns about space when all staff wanted to attend the office.
It was felt that workers should plan their week to ensure that they had a desk when needed. Others were reconfiguring their office space, ensuring more space for relaxed discussions to encourage collaboration.
A particular difficulty for some businesses is managing employees who have roles where they cannot work from home and who feel aggrieved at the flexibility afforded to those who can, with some fully office or site-based employees under the impression that those working from home are not really working. In some cases, unions are starting to apply pressure on employers to give operational staff an element of flexibility too, and other organisations were experiencing the same desire from their staff. Businesses are concerned about creating a divided workforce. In addition, one organisation reported those who were hybrid workers felt disgruntled at being mandated to attend an office where they must pay for parking or food, whilst permanent on-site colleagues at other locations have this paid for them.
Organisations that have clear policies, for example, a three/two split are requesting staff make formal requests for any further flexibility. However, there does not appear to have been an influx of more formal flexible working requests as anticipated, albeit that may be due to the high level of flexibility which remains in most organisations and might only come if employers implement stricter office working requirements. Businesses who are not embracing hybrid working reported that they were accepting flexible working requests more often, when in the past they may have turned requests down.
One of the main reasons cited by participants for maintaining hybrid working, even where managers were not keen to do so, was employee retention. In such a competitive market, businesses are acutely aware that they will likely lose staff if the flexibility that they have become used to is removed. Indeed, some organisations had staff depart when a formal requirement to attend the office on a specific number of days was introduced. Employees know that they can live life and work around it, rather than the other way around. In addition, participants reported that one of the most common questions during recruitment in these times is around a firm’s policy on flexible working. Indeed, some businesses were recruiting fully remote workers to fill roles, with a requirement to attend the office only once a month or so. Yet very few organisations were truly remote in the sense that employees could work anywhere in the world.
PRESSURE POINT: Ensuring staff are working lawfully overseas whilst resident in another country can be a tricky subject and may impact on whether remote working is feasible. There is an element of risk in staff entering the remote location as a tourist or visitor and then proceeding to work there.
Whilst a handful of countries (such as the Bahamas) have visa schemes to suit this, most do not. Where UK visa holders are working remotely, whether from their home country or another overseas location, this can trigger sponsor compliance duties in the UK which often employers do not realise when agreeing to requests.
However, businesses are now receiving more requests for remote working abroad, both temporary and permanent requests. It was acknowledged that such arrangements could bring tax, visa and employment law complexities, and this may impact on salaries and compliance duties. The other concern highlighted by participants who already had individuals working abroad was that time differences could impact on service delivery.
Truly remote working is something that is likely to become more customary in time, particularly in an environment when businesses are facing high attrition rates and individuals are expecting greater flexibility.
So what?
How can I ensure that my business thrives under a hybrid or more flexible model?
Whilst hybrid working may not suit all businesses, many businesses can incorporate some form of flexibility into their model. It’s clear that when employers get hybrid working right, it can bring benefits for both employers and employees, including; increased employee satisfaction, attraction of candidates and greater productivity.
Before introducing or reviewing any hybrid or flexible model, identify the potential weaknesses of remote and flexible working for your business and devise a strategy for addressing those concerns. For the policy to succeed, it’s important that organisations are attuned to the needs of their staff. Anonymous engagement surveys can help to ensure the policy best meets staff and business requirements.
Careful consideration should always be given to how prescriptive any policy will be. Interestingly, a recent survey found that if an employer trusts its teams to set their own policies, attendance was 41% – almost the same as where a three-day week was imposed[3].
Another key consideration of any hybrid or remote policy is mental health. Business needs to ensure employees’ mental health is not adversely affected and means of keeping in touch are effective. Initiatives such as the Mindful Business Charter should sit hand in hand with hybrid working policies.
Where hybrid working is embraced, many businesses are reconsidering what they need from an office space. There have been reports of productivity being impacted in the office due to noise, and therefore quiet spaces and executive style lounges will be important. As part of that, employers need to consider how to use the tools and technology they have at their disposal to stimulate innovation. There is a need to focus on opportunities for in-person team meetings and informal discussions when in the office. However, do those water cooler moments truly lead to enhanced collaboration or are we more sensitive to collaboration opportunities now than we were pre-pandemic? How many of us considered collaboration when turning down flexible working requests?
For remote working, engagement strategies should focus on how to ensure connection when working remotely and nurture talent. Engaging with staff to find a way that suits both the business and individuals may well achieve greater results. It was agreed that smaller virtual meetings are generally more conducive to idea sharing, allowing for everyone to speak up. Fully embracing technology (for example, virtual whiteboards) can assist too. This can also help to ensure that multi-site offices collaborate effectively in a way that they did not pre-pandemic. Committing time for collaboration and innovation when working remotely is key, whether that time is in person or virtually. In the future, the metaverse (an immersive 3D virtual world where employees engage as avatars) is poised to play a key role in remote working. We anticipate that with advances in technology, remote working is here to stay.
[3] Is hybrid working here to stay? - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)
TO DISCUSS ANY OF THE THEMES IN THIS REPORT, PLEASE CONTACT:
Mandy Laurie - Head of Employment
mandy.laurie@burnesspaull.com | 0131 473 6318
FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS, PLEASE CONTACT:
Adam Shaw - Communications Manager
adam.shaw@burnesspaull.com | 0131 473 6060
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