Four years on from when working from home was a novelty, has that novelty now worn off or is working from home here to stay?
What does research tell us?
A recent survey of over 2500 senior leaders in a variety of UK companies carried out by the Centre For Economic Policy Research (CEPR) shows how working practices have changed in recent years. These results, and historical information previously gathered by CEPR, show that in 2018 just under 6% of employees in the businesses who took part in the survey worked on a hybrid basis and just under 4% of employees worked fully remote. In 2023, these numbers had risen to 30% hybrid and just under 8% fully remote, respectively. Looking ahead to the future, in 2028, companies taking part in the survey said that they expected these proportions to remain stable with a slight fall in hybrid and a small increase in those working fully remote.
This trend is not unique to the UK either. Data from the USA published in the Harvard Business Review shows that in 2023 American businesses had 14.1% of their employees working on a hybrid basis with that figure projected to increase to 16.3% in 2028. For context in 2018 just 4.1% of employees worked on a hybrid basis. Furthermore, the same data shows that in 2018, 4.3% of employees in the USA worked fully remotely, last year that figure stood at 10.2% and by 2028 is expected to increase slightly again to 11.2%.
Why has working from home maintained popularity?
Much like a number of other changes in our lives that came about as a result of the pandemic, working from home experienced a slight dip once restrictions were eased but overall it has maintained its popularity, particularly among employees. Having had a taste of an alternative way of working many people decided that they enjoyed having a greater work life balance and the flexibility that it afforded them. Hybrid working in particular gathered momentum as it bridged the gap between what employees and employers wanted and created a happy medium in which both could exist. For employees, hybrid working gives them the best of both worlds, days spent at home are often more focused and productive and days in the office allow for interactions with colleagues and maintaining a sense of team. Employers also benefit as they gain increased engagement and retention from staff who value this flexible approach and ultimately employers can also save money on overheads by providing hybrid or fully remote working options.
What’s the counter argument?
On a very basic level working from home, whether hybrid or fully remote, is not feasible for all roles and all businesses. In many cases employees are needed in the workplace and simply can’t carry out their roles at home. For those employees working from home is just not an option unless they look for alternative employment elsewhere. The mood among some employers is also changing even if remote working is an option for their staff. Towards the back end of 2023 some large corporations, including Lloyds, Amazon and Google, started to ask staff to return to the office. A survey by KMPG seems to indicate that returning to the office could become more widespread with 63% of CEOs who were surveyed predicting a full return to working in the office by 2026.
What does the future hold?
Whilst none of us can predict the future it is safe to say that remote working in some form will continue in the future. The scale and number of employees and employers choosing to work in that way will be determined by a number of factors including maintaining performance and collaboration with colleagues. Developments in technology may also open up remote working to other companies and sectors and therefore it seems certain that working from home really is here to stay.
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Why not also check out our blog on a similar topic Workplace Culture In A Remote Working World
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