More than 25% of working adults in the UK did hybrid work in 2024, splitting their time between working in the office and working from home, ONS data shows.
In the past year nearly 15% of working adults only worked from home and never travelled into work.
The age group 30-49 has the highest proportion of people working from home all of the time.
However, the total number of adults working only from home has decreased by 12% since 2021.
Under the government’s Employment Rights Bill, Labour plans to make flexible working the default for all workers, with bosses being required to approve flexible working requests from staff from their first day, unless proved “unreasonable”.
And the number of hybrid or fully remote roles is increasing. Figures compiled by LinkedIn show that 40% of all jobs advertised across the UK in November were hybrid roles, where staff are not required to come into the office five days a week.
But does this shift towards remote work appeal to everyone?
Some companies are fighting against this shift in work culture. Barclays recently asked most of its 85,000 employees to come into the office for an additional day a week, raising its minimum attendance requirement to three days a week.
There are many individuals who also reject the move towards fully remote work.
Working from home was a big factor in Tracey Gallagher’s decision to leave the company she worked for.
Tracey was first asked if she wanted to work from home during the pandemic, but she refused the offer as she wanted to get out of the house and see colleagues.
Her role then changed within the company and her new team all worked from home. Tracey’s contract was amended to working from home.
Tracey said: “If I’d been working in the office I think I would still be there as I’d like to think that I would have been supported better.”
However, Tracey did see some benefits to remote working.
She said: “It had its advantages, such as there being no commute into Manchester, which was often long and stressful.
“Whilst I missed the social aspect of going into work, I had more free time in the evening.”
But Tracey struggled with completing training online, preferring to learn new skills in person.
“I would also have preferred to get to know my new colleagues face-to-face to build a stronger relationship,” she added.
“I think that for young people and those new to the organisation it is really important to have face-to-face contact.”
Featured image by Kaitlyn Baker on Unsplash.
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