84% of employers have hybrid working in place

Four in five employers have adopted a hybrid working approach in the wake of Covid-19 (Coronavirus), according to research.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) polled 1,237 managers for the survey, with 41% of these working in the private sector and 59% in the public and non-profit sectors.

Findings revealed that 84% of managers said their organisation allowed staff to split their work time between home and the office.

Two-thirds answered that their organisation began working this way since the outbreak of Covid-19, with 45% of those who do have a hybrid pattern saying the initiative sits within an overarching flexible working policy.

Almost six in 10 (59%) employers with a clear hybrid working policy in place have not specified the number of days employees must work from the workplace, according to the poll.

Where the policy does specify working days, 85% ask employees to be in between two and three fifths of the working week while just 3% want staff to be in four-fifths of the time.

Where there is no dedicated policy, just over a third of managers believe there is still an underlying expectation for staff to be in the office for a certain number of days.

In this case around six in 10 believe workers should travel to work two or three times a week, while one in four think that should rise to four days.

Where staff are still home working, more than half of managers said senior leaders are actively encouraging a return to the workplace through their communications.

Nine in 10 managers polled are in favour of hybrid working.

CMI chief executive Ann Francke commented that she thinks there needs to be an update on how businesses manage and lead, with Covid highlighting that this is the case.

She explained that it would be “very short sighted” of bosses not to see some correlation between the shift in the working world and how staff now work.

Francke added: “We are 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.”