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PA Enterprise
Flexible working
revolution remains a
work in progress
Employers have yet to adapt to the flexible working revolution sweeping
through the UK’s offices, new research has shown.
More than 1,000 office workers across the UK the UK emerges from COVID-19.
were surveyed in August to understand how well Dr Matthew Davis of Leeds University Business
prepared employees and organisations felt for School said: “As COVID-19 social distancing
their widespread return to the workplace this restrictions have lifted, many of us are working
autumn, and how flexible working practices – flexibly; splitting our time in the office and at
where staff time is split between working from home. But this survey shows that employers are
home and from the office – were playing out. feeling their way through these changes – the
Just 22% of participants reported that their offices majority are developing systems and practices
had been redesigned to support hybrid working, as they go along rather than taking a planned,
and only 7% had received training in managing systematic approach. This is likely to lead to more
or participating in hybrid meetings, indicating disruption and change as employers establish
a training gap for effective hybrid working and what works and what doesn’t.”
hybrid meeting management.
‘Hot desking’
The majority [of employers] are developing
systems and practices as they go along rather The Leeds research also underlined the
than taking a planned, systematic approach. unpopularity of “hot desking”, where office
workers share desks. More than 80% of
While most participants reported flexible working interviewees said that they wanted to have an
patterns at their workplace, only 31% were aware assigned desk rather than sharing with others.
of a formal flexi-hours policy in their organization,
and just 21% knew of a formal hybrid working Dr Davis said: “It’s well known that hot desking
policy. isn’t particularly popular, but the argument has
previously been made that employees will grow
The research raises the prospect of significant to like hot desking given more time. Our survey
disruption and change in UK workplaces in suggests this is not the case – 43% of those we
the coming months as employers adapt to the spoke to were already in workplaces where hot
biggest shake-up of office work in decades, desking was used and still didn’t like it. This shows
with findings being a part of a major research the need for change management and selling the
project being undertaken by Leeds University vision of what hybrid workplaces provide to off-
Business School on changes in the workplace as
set loss of personal space.“
PA Enterprise is published by
14 October/November 2021
