Hybrid working is here to stay

UK business believe hybrid working is here to stay following a 190% spike in remote job postings since the start of pandemic.

According to new findings from specialist recruiter Robert Half (www.roberthalf.co.uk), nearly 90% (89%) of UK businesses expect hybrid working trends to become permanent with employees keen to take advantage of the opportunities hybrid and flexible working have created.

New findings come as Robert Half launches its ‘Demand for Skilled Talent’ report, analysing current UK employment trends and the rise of the ‘anywhere workforce’.  The report found that with the uptick in hybrid and flexible working, many employees are keen to make the most of the opportunity, with two in five workers surveyed (39%) planning to relocate to another country or city whilst working remotely, while almost half (49%) say they want to swap to a compressed four-day week in response to increased workloads over the last year.  An additional 68% expressed a desire to continue working from home for one to three days a week going forward.

“Long-term shifts to remote and hybrid working are creating significant opportunities for businesses and individual workers alike.  While the ‘anywhere workforce’ is clearly here to stay, adopting a flexible mindset will be critical for all who want to thrive in what remains a highly dynamic business environment,” comments Matt Weston, Managing Director, Robert Half UK.

“We’re seeing the pivot towards online revenue generation, data-driven operational and planning processes, and the desire to fast-track talent transformation strategies to build more resilient, adaptable, and agile workforces influencing hiring priorities for many across the UK.”

“The pandemic has greatly accelerated a number of existing trends in the jobs market, including the move towards remote work and the rise of hybrid jobs,” adds Matt Sigelman, CEO, Burning Glass Technologies.  “Remote work has the potential to disrupt the market by giving employers access to a much broader pool of talent and thus the ability to boost workforce diversity.  But these trends create a new need for ensuring workforce readiness, making it more essential than ever for workers to remain agile and adaptable while combining ‘hard’, technical skills with ‘softer’ human skills.”

Hybrid working has also seen a number of benefits for employers with many businesses reporting improved business agility as they now have access to a far larger talent pool.  Companies are channelling more budget into technology that supports secure remote work and seamless collaboration, and as businesses which adopt a remote-first approach are realising the value of recruiting outside their city and hiring managers are avoiding wading through a flood of resumes to gain direct access to top candidates by partnering with a staffing firm such as Robert Half.