Analysis | What are employers’ return to the office plans for 2025?

Hybrid working remains widespread, but is not universal

From our Autumn 2024 Labour Market Outlook we see there are some employers who have taken a hard line, with one in eleven (9%) not allowing any form of hybrid working.  

It is also important to recognise that many workers are not able to work remotely due to the nature of their job. 14% of employers are operating in sectors where hybrid working is not applicable, and Labour Force Survey data shows that half of all UK workers cannot work from home or remotely in their job. 

The CIPD’s Labour Market Outlook survey found that adoption of forms of hybrid working remains widespread. Nearly half (41%) of employers allow hybrid working with formalised policies in place. One in five (19%) employers also have informal practices between managers and employees, with a modest proportion (15%) who believe they are currently in the testing and learning stage.  

It should be noted, though, that the nature of hybrid working varies by firm type. Half of large private, public and voluntary sector employers have formal policies in place. This compares to just 22% of SMEs, where both informal arrangements for hybrid working (25%) and being unable to offer hybrid working (26%) are more common.

Figure 1: Employer's hybrid working approaches by size and sector

Large employers want employees back in the office more frequently

Large private sector employers are more likely to be developing their approaches through testing and learning (19%), and it is from larger employers where we see the return to office push come from.

Among large private sector employers that already mandate days, 30% are planning to increase the number of mandated days in the next 12 months, compared to 21% of SMEs and 17% of employers in the public sector. However, just 6% of employers who currently have no mandatory days in the office plan to introduce them in the next 12 months. 

Figure 2: Employer's plans to increase days in office by size and sector

Different approaches to mandated office days

The survey found that a third (32%) of employers who currently allow hybrid working do not require a set number of office days. Meanwhile, half of employers (52%) are requiring a minimum number of days a week, and 13% set a minimum number of days per month employees must be in the office.  

Figure 3: Employer's requirements of mandated office hours

When looking at the typical number of days employees are required to come in per week, similar themes emerge, even amongst different types of businesses and organisations. 47% of large private sector employers with mandated days require a minimum of three days and whilst the proportion reporting three days is lower among public sector employers (39%) and SMEs (35%) it is still the most common.

60% minimum attendance expectations, for example, are currently in place in the Civil Service. The level of public sector employers with a minimum of two day requirement in the office (34%) is higher than the private and voluntary sectors. 

Figure 4: Employer's required number of days of mandated office time

Deciding what's best for each organisation

When looking at the question of hybrid working and whether employers are right to recall employees back into the office, there is no one size fits all and it’s important to have a clear and evidence-based rationale for the specific approach taken. For example, it makes good business sense for employees or teams to be together on specific days, rather than needing everyone in the office because of a lack of trust for people to be performing effectively remotely.   

The most recent CIPD evidence suggests that organisations engaged in hybrid working typically rate the performance of employees working from home positively. They also recognise the key benefits such as attraction and retention, employee satisfaction and business flexibility. However, some business leaders have expressed concerns that the shift to more home and hybrid working triggered in large part through the COVID-19 pandemic is leading to a loss of connection to organisation purpose and the culture of the organisation. 

Employers should be seeking to find a balance where flexibility over where and when people work meets the needs of the business, including understanding of productivity, and supports employees in ways that show positive attraction, engagement and retention outcomes. In other words, the approach to hybrid working is evidence based. It is in employers’ interests to understand what people want and try to find a solution that works for all, and where expectations need to be reset.  

For example, to have specific days when people are in the workplace to help with team management, development and collaborative working, but empowering people to work from home to support more focused work. It's not necessarily one or the other, but there is a need for clarity built on evidence, and recognising that hybrid is a good way of reaping the benefits of both remote and in-person work.  

While much focus is around remote and hybrid working, this is just one form of more flexible working and will not apply to large parts of our workforces. More broadly, organisations need to be thinking more creatively about different forms of flexible working including options for the high proportion of employees that are in non-office or front-line roles. This is important in providing fairness of opportunity for flexible working.

The role that HR professionals should play in the hybrid work debate

HR professionals should be involved in establishing clear lines of communication between employees and employers, ensuring both sides’ opinions on the benefits and risks of remote working are heard. Companies that aim to create an environment that works well for the interests of both the business and the individual employee stand to benefit the most from the potential rewards hybrid working can bring.

For more practical guidance on hybrid working see: Hybrid working: Guidance for people professionals | CIPD