Hybrid working has been one of the hot topics of recent years after the Covid pandemic introduced arguably the biggest experiment in remote working ever seen. Understanding the current state of things is not quite as straightforward as we might think.
Research from King’s College London aims to bring together the numerous surveys that have attempted to shine a light on the new world of work in London, combine it with their own survey of work for Londoners, and thus come up with a more complete understanding of just what work looks like today.
A unique experience
The researchers highlight that the various figures surrounding work life today have varied somewhat, but they have been consistent in showing that London’s experience is fundamentally different from that of the rest of the country.
They explain that not only were more workers furloughed during the pandemic in London but also more people had been working from home too. Indeed, official data shows that 65% of Londoners worked from home during 2021, versus just 46% for the U.K. as a whole. This gap has endured through to 2022, with recent data showing that the capital has seen a sharper rise in homeworking and a larger fall in commuting out of the city than any other part of the country between 2019 and 2022.
To a large extent, this has been the continuation of a lasting trend, with the researchers explaining that remote working was about 50% more popular among Londoners than workers elsewhere in the country prior to the pandemic.
Knowledge work
To a large extent, this is because of the preponderance of knowledge workers in the capital, with professional services and ICT roles dominating the employment landscape. Roles in these areas account for around 22% of all employment in the city, compared to just 14% for the country as a whole. These are jobs that were able to migrate online pretty easily, with data suggesting that well over half of IT workers had been operating from home and nearly half of professional services workers during 2021.
Sectors such as hospitality obviously have much more face-to-face requirements, and here, the figures are similar for both London and the rest of England, with around 75% of staff furloughed during the same period.
This created the interesting concept of the city’s workforce was broadly split between those who took work home with them and those who either stopped commuting into the city or were furloughed due to the decline in tourism. This underpins why the city was both highly resilient in terms of its productivity while also having the biggest rise in unemployment during the pandemic.
A hybrid future
The researchers believe, however, that remote working during the pandemic proved so popular that hybrid working is likely to be a mainstay of working for Londoners going forward.
“Six in 10 London workers say they are now hybrid working, as defined by working from home at least one day a week and from their workplace fewer than five days a week,” the researchers explain. “Of those in work at the time, 37% said they worked from home at least one day a week on average before the pandemic. Now roughly double this proportion – 75% – report doing so in the past four weeks.”
Indeed, they argue that around 75% of Londoners believe that they will not be returning to office-based working on a full-time basis, even if there appears to be a strong sense that their managers would like them to do so. Indeed, most respondents to the survey revealed that they had enjoyed numerous benefits from working remotely and show little real desire to see those benefits ebb away.
“It’s clear why people think we’re not returning to the way things were: high proportions of London workers say they’ve experienced benefits from WFH and that it’s better for people’s quality of life,” the authors explain. “They’re also more likely to feel in control and generally connected to things that are important to them.”
Arguably the biggest benefit is the lack of commute, with the summer heatwave exacerbating the desire to avoid the stifling tube or bus network wherever possible. The greater ability to manage one’s home and social responsibilities were also cited as a major benefit of hybrid working, with respondents generally agreeing that a day or two of working from home is both better for our quality of life and also better for our sense of control over our personal and professional lives.
It’s perhaps important for managers to note that not only do people feel they are as productive at home as they are in the office but also that their desire to work from home is not a reflection of their dislike of working in the office, or indeed with their colleagues. Indeed, many still believe going into work a few days a week is good in terms of maintaining human capital with colleagues.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway is the strong sense that people want control and agency over their place of work. This desire for autonomy has long been understood to underpin our motivation and engagement at work, and the survey results reinforce this. The question is, are managers finally going to listen?
