November 18, 2024

Hybrid working means people feel as if they are always at work

The increasing uptake of hybrid working could be encouraging workers to respond to work requests and communication as if they are ‘always on’, according to a Censuswide survey commissioned by Moneypenny of over 2,000 general UK consumers. The survey suggests that the majority (56 percent) are accepting work related communications out of hours. Of these workers, 13 percent said they’ve received work-related comms at any time of night or day. More →

November 8, 2024

That conversation about hybrid working? Same as it ever was

by Marcus Bowen • Comment, Facilities management, Flexible working, Property

Recently I wrote a short article based on a 1993 Architects’ Journal interview with IBM’s then design manager of property, Peter Wingrave. It reminded me how discussions about new ways of working – now including that neologism hybrid working – have been a constant throughout my career. In that interview, Wingrave is quoted as saying: “I think there are interesting times ahead for offices. We are already seeing the slow breakdown of the traditional office which people come to in the morning and leave at night…We would like our offices to catch the social spirit of an old gentleman’s club; you just pop in when you need to. You get more out of people that way… we’re lucky if our marketing areas are ever 40 per cent occupied … It’s crazy to build, run, heat, light and decorate a building as if people were there when 60 per cent of the time you know they are not”. More →

October 29, 2024

Hybrid working leads people to use their commute as exercise

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

The widespread adoption of hybrid working has led to a boom in active commuting – where workers combine their commute with physical exercise – resulting in improved wellness, productivity, and job satisfaction, according to a new poll from IWG. The increased use of local flexible workspaces by hybrid workers has been central to this shift, says the firm, which provides local flexible workspaces. Almost two thirds (62 percent) of commutes to local workspaces are now mostly or entirely active, a 38 percent increase compared to commutes to city centre offices. More →

September 20, 2024

Hybrid working may just be a kink in the road to something better

by Mark Eltringham • Comment, Flexible working

When you fixate on deciding precisely how much time everybody has to spend in an office, somebody is going to decide the answer is five days. The peculiar obsession with pronouncing the answer to be two days or three days can be dated back to 2020 when a load of people who had never previously taken much interest in the matter decided to reinvent a world that had never existed, by replacing it with something that couldn’t exist. We invented hybrid working when we didn’t need to. More →

August 27, 2024

People want the flexibility of hybrid work, but don’t want to go fully remote

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News

A new survey conducted by Zoom in collaboration with Reworked INSIGHTS claims that hybrid work has become the preferred working model worldwide, with a significant impact on productivity, employee satisfaction, and workplace connectivity. The survey, titled “Navigating the Future of Work: Global Perspectives on Hybrid Models and Technology [registration] sets out to explore the evolving nature of work, focusing on global trends in workplace flexibility, employee preferences, and the growing role of generative AI. More →

August 14, 2024

Hybrid workers are more likely than colleagues to report poor mental health

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Wellbeing

Hybrid workers are the group most likely to say that work has a negative toll on their mental health, according to a new survey from Pluxee UK. Two-fifths (42 percent) of hybrid workers reported that work negatively affects their mental wellbeing, compared to 32 percent of fully remote and 30 percent of fully office-based employees. The report claims thatits findings highlight that while hybrid working offers flexibility, it requires thoughtful support to ensure employee wellbeing and work-life balance. More →

July 1, 2024

The rise of supercommuters linked to adoption of flexible and hybrid working

by Jayne Smith • News, Working lives

New research from Trainline claims that the number of UK “supercommuters” using rail to travel longer distances to work has doubled since Covid. Almost half (47 percent) of current supercommuters surveyed made the lifestyle change either during or post-pandemic, and over four in five (84 percent) of these new supercommuters say hybrid working has enabled this switch in their commuting habits. More →

June 17, 2024

People say hybrid working has reduced their risk of burnout

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Property, Wellbeing

A new poll claims that the vast majority of workers who have shifted to a hybrid working model say that it has helped them to greatly reduce burnout in their working lives. The survey of more than 1,000 people, undertaken by hybrid working firm International Workplace Group, suggests that three quarters (75 percent) reported a dramatic reduction in burnout symptoms, defined as a syndrome resulting from chronic workplaces stress, since moving to a hybrid model. More →

May 31, 2024

People must take the lead on hybrid working to drive highest returns

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

A new report from workplace technology provider Eptura suggests that employee-led hybrid working models and connected technology drive the highest returns for businesses. According to its first half 2024 Workplace Index report [registration], companies with hybrid working models in which employees can choose when to come to the office are seeing the most benefit. This is because employees who work effectively in the office can generate an average revenue increase of 3-8 percent. The study also claims that globally, employees are now spending an average of 3 days a week in the office, with the biggest increase being seen in the Asia-Pacific region. The most common days for office attendance remain Tuesday through Thursday. More →

May 10, 2024

IN Magazine Supplement: internal communications for hybrid working cultures

by Jayne Smith • Briefing, Premium Content

One of the many important talking points of The Great Workplace Conversation and the widespread adoption of hybrid working over the past three years has been how we talk about change. Whenever anybody refers to people ‘returning to work’, they can expect to be corrected by somebody else pointing out that most people never stopped working during the various lockdowns. They’d stopped going into work. In the same way, people are increasingly likely to point out that the office and the workplace are often two different things. Words matter. Precision matters. Shared ideas matter. Engagement matters. More →

May 9, 2024

As hybrid offices continue to evolve, report explores global occupancy planning

by Neil Franklin • Facilities management, News, Property, Technology

Four years after the start of the pandemic, a new survey from JLL claims that hybrid working is now the most common workstyle globally, with 87 percent of organisations operating with a hybrid program today. JLL’s new 2024 Global Occupancy Planning Benchmarking Report claims to outline how hybrid offices are actively shifting to accommodate a greater variety of work activities and how companies can look at occupancy planning and workplace design more holistically to reflect these changes. By investing in new technologies, leveraging utilisation data and prioritizing individual and private seating, companies can ensure they are effectively reflecting the workplace’s changing needs. More →

May 1, 2024

Most firms lack the right tech for hybrid working

by Neil Franklin • Flexible working, News, Technology

A new poll from Ricoh Europe claims that the majority of organisations lack the technology to support flexible working, with only 30 percent of European employees saying they have all the technology to collaborate seamlessly when working with other colleagues. More →