I’m no Mystic Meg, but I can safely predict hybrid working is here to stay

It’s harder for employers to say no to home working because we were all forced to make it work as a result of the pandemic, writes Blair Duncan

In December 2021, I delivered a presentation to some HR professionals. My topic? Likely employment law changes in 2022. One of my predictions was that the right to request flexible working would be a day-one right following the introduction of new legislation. Then I read that the government was unlikely to introduce such legislation in this year’s Queen’s Speech, which proved to be correct, so it is safe to say I’m not going to be the next Mystic Meg.

As we are all aware, flexible or hybrid working has become the norm as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. A seismic shift in the way that organisations organise their workforce sand their office estates has taken place.

As I write, I am in one of Blackadders’ offices but I, like many others, am fortunate to work on a hybrid basis. Pre-pandemic I thought working at home would be brilliant; not having to wear a suit every day nor taking the bus into town were certainly two bonuses. But, as someone who enjoys socialising with others and having more structure to my life, the novelty of home working soon wore off.

My current pattern suits me very well and I know anecdotally of others, both individuals and employers, who also enjoy and promote the same sort of structure. I think this is because it offers the best of both worlds: collaboration with colleagues and individual working; structure and flexibility; and homemade lunch es and professionally made sandwiches (we all have our favourite place).

How long will this continue? It is hard to say. Like everyone else I have read news stories about flexibleand hybrid working. the desire of some to get staff back to the office all (or most) of the time or the law firm offering its staff the option to work from home permanently and accept a 20 per cent pay reduction.

The reality behind the headlines, and in most workplaces, is however more nuanced. There are certainly financial benefits to working from home. For the employee, these include lower travel costs and fewer temptations to eat out but, as costs rise, the cost of running your home workplace increases too. for employers, there is certainly a saving if there are fewer staff in offices but there are also increased risks such as cyber and data security meaning a potential higher insurance risk, among other things.

There are also those less tangible benefits to working at home. The convenience of being able to walk the dog at lunch time or to be there when the engineer is coming to fix the boiler. But those benefits come with, often hidden, downsides: loneliness, isolation and lack of supervision or training. There is also the temptation to log on to check emails or finish that piece of work because, well, the laptop is just sitting there. Home working might make it harder for employers to notice changes in staff performanceor well being, or both. we always advise employers, whatever your preferred working method, to have clear policies in place and a clear reporting procedure and support structure too.

While there are statutory requirements in relation to flexible working requests, there is nothing to stop employers going further than the statutory minimum and many already do. In fact, reports I have read suggest that shelving this legislation might be because there is no need for the government to introduce it at the moment.

Arguably, the market has already legislated and is having to offer what applicants and employees are expecting and so to attract and retain the right talent for their business employers have togo further or allow something different than they might have offered in the past. It can now be much harder for employers to say that home working will not work because we were all forced to make it work.

Given my past record, don’t ask me to predict the lottery numbers but w ha ti can predict is that flexible or hybrid working, in some format least, is here to stay.

Blair Duncan is a Solicitor with Blackadders