Employers still grappling with the effects of the Covid pandemic five years on, says the CIPD

Many employers are still adapting to the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic five years after the first lockdown began (23 March 2020), says the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development. 

The pandemic was a very difficult time, impacting people and businesses in many different ways, including health and wellbeing, loss of loved ones, loss of jobs and business closures. However, there were positive workplace developments that came out of the pandemic, such as increased flexibility around when, where and how people work, and greater adoption of technology to facilitate collaboration.  

Since the pandemic, significant challenges around economic inactivity, productivity and employee engagement remain a concern, and have since been exacerbated by further events such as the cost-of-living crisis. 

CIPD data shows that: 

• More workers now have flexibility around the hours they work. In February-March 2023, 60% of UK workers had flexible working arrangements in their role, up from 54% who said they worked flexibly in some way in 2019. 
• Hybrid working remains commonplace. Two in five (41%) UK organisations currently have formal hybrid working policies, while 24% take an ad-hoc approach. Only 9% of employers do not allow any form of hybrid work. 
• Many employees now have a more transactional view of work. In 2024, 47% of employees said they see their job as ‘just about the money’, up from 38% in 2019, while only 51% said they would work harder than needed to help their employer, down from 57% in 2019. 

In response, the CIPD is urging organisations to stay curious to new ways of working – including building the evidence for how they can make best use of flexible arrangements and technology like AI – to solve both persistent and emerging problems. 

Peter Cheese, chief executive of the CIPD said:

“The pandemic may be over but its after-effects are not. Many individuals are affected on a day-to-day basis by long Covid and the pandemic’s lasting effect on mental wellbeing, and flexible working practices and wellbeing support in organisations are important.  

“Expectations of our workforces have changed and many employers are still grappling with finding the ‘new norm’ in flexible and hybrid working. We are still learning and it’s important to keep building the evidence of work outcomes including productivity and collaboration, alongside attraction, retention, wellbeing and inclusion. 

“As has become clear, many more people are economically inactive than at the start of the pandemic, and employees are increasingly more likely to view work as ‘just about the money’, which is concerning for engagement and productivity. The government initiatives on ‘Get Britain Working’ and ‘Keep Britain Working’ are challenging but important programmes aimed at improving rates of employment that will also require engagement and support from business. 

“We’re not yet fully set into a new norm, and since the pandemic, other significant issues have arisen including cost of living and inflationary pressures, concerns about skills shortages, and now the potential impact of AI alongside geopolitical shifts. These are all strategic business issues which employers and the HR profession need to engage closely on to help future growth and employment opportunities. Workforce thinking and planning must be at the heart of their approach.” 

The CIPD says that organisations need to be led by the evidence when reviewing which working arrangements work best for their business and employees, and any roll back on hybrid or remote working policies should be based on a clear rationale.  

It’s also important for employers to consider flexible options that can support the attraction and retention of all their staff including those in frontline roles, such as flexitime, compressed hours, job-sharing and term-time working. 

To address the increasingly transactional view of work some employees have, the CIPD says organisations should invest in ways to boost employee engagement, including skills development opportunities, training for line managers to be good people managers, and meaningful jobs supported by positive, collaborative workplace cultures. 

Peter Cheese continued: “There will be no one-size-fits-all solution to these challenges. Employers should continue to embrace the curiosity and openness to new approaches they showed at the height of the Covid crisis to address emerging issues as the world of work continues to shift.”