Will the future of work be hybrid?

With vaccines now becoming increasingly available and lockdown restrictions beginning to lift, a sense of hope regarding normality is unmistakably circulating within the UK.

But this poses the question, what will businesses do going forward in terms of home and office working?

In this blog, we’ve looked at some trends/predictions and provided some useful tips for those managing HR.

Trends and predictions

The COVID-19 pandemic has majorly disrupted the way we work, making remote working a necessity due to safety and Government guidance.

At the start of the pandemic in 2020, almost half of the UK workforce immediately moved to full-time home working, and new research suggests that 25% of people will continue to work permanently from home post-COVID.

When you consider that before the pandemic, only 5% of the workforce worked predominantly from home, the impact is clear to see.

Ultimately, we believe that remote working will continue to be widely adopted by many businesses after the pandemic as it’s now been proven that many jobs don’t require an office to operate.

But going forward, a hybrid approach that mixes office and home working will likely be the most popular option.

In fact, PwC just publicly announced its plans for a flexible working policy that will allow its 22,000 UK staff to split their time between their home and the office after the pandemic.

How to prepare your business

When deciding what approach you want to take for your business, we recommend that you consider the following two factors.

1) Has home working been successful?

Firstly, consider how remote working has impacted the engagement and productivity of your own workforce.

While for many businesses, COVID-19 has proven that working from home is viable for numerous roles, it doesn’t necessarily mean it has or will work for everyone.

2) What do your employees want?

If remote working has been a success and you want to implement it long-term, we advise that you reach out to your employees and run a survey to see what they want.

For some, lockdown may have been isolating, and they want nothing more than to return to the office, while for others, the lack of commute and added flexibility means they’d prefer to continue working from home.

How can IRIS HR Pro help?

Whether you’re looking to create a hybrid way of working, run digital surveys, effectively manage HR from any location, or enable employees with cloud-based HR self-service, IRIS HR Pro can help.

The handy HR software offers the tools needed to ensure flexibility and freedom, providing a smarter way to manage HR.

For more information on how IRIS HR Pro can help and to request a demo, click here.

Stephanie Coward

Managing Director, HCM

Stephanie Coward is Managing Director for HCM at IRIS, where she leads the strategy, innovation and growth of the organisation’s HR and payroll portfolio. She is responsible for positioning IRIS as a trusted partner to HR professionals and ensuring its solutions support the evolving needs of modern workforces.

With more than 25 years’ experience in the technology sector, Stephanie brings deep commercial and operational expertise, with a passion for improving the employee experience through technology.

Stephanie is committed to advancing IRIS’ HCM offering and helping organisations build more resilient, empowered workforces.