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Hybrid working has come under fire in recent months, with widespread discussions around return-to-office (RTO) mandates, but most workers are not willing to forgo the option to work from home in a hurry, new research from Hays reveals.
Almost half (48%) of professionals would consider quitting their current role if their employer made it compulsory for them to return-to-office full time - with women (58%) are more likely to leave their position than men (42%) if they had to give up hybrid working.
According to the research, based on a survey of over 8,000 responses from employers and professionals across the UK, employers say over three quarters (77%) of their workforce are currently working in a hybrid way.
For those offering hybrid working – the most popular agreement for staff is three days a week spent in the office (25%) – consistent with the results of Hays’ research six months ago. 22% of employers allow staff to choose how many days they work remotely and in the workplace, a slight decrease from 6 months ago (26%).
Three quarters (75%) of employers say they haven’t made any changes to their hybrid working policies in the last six months, whilst two in ten (20%) have asked employees to be in the workplace more often.
Looking ahead, only 8% of employers have plans to mandate a return-to-office in the next six months and two thirds (66%) understandably have concerns that a push to return-to-office would cause backlash from their employees.
Professionals say the top factor that would impact their decision to return to the office on a more regular basis is the cost of commuting (73%) – working in the office full time would increase commuting costs for 88% of workers. The research demonstrates that the impact these costs would have on general finances would be more significant for women (59%) than men (41%).
Over half (52%) of employers believe productivity is the same between home workers and office workers, followed by 19% who view home workers as more productive than office workers. Only 13% say staff working from home are less productive overall than office-based workers.
Pam Lindsay-Dunn, COO of Hays UK&I, comments: “The controversy over returning to the office full time and continuing to work in a hybrid way has dominated the world of work in recent months.
Whilst some employers are leaving behind the appealing flexibility of hybrid working that many professionals have now gotten used to, this won’t be without consequences. Employers need to realise they are at serious risk of losing top talent if they make a full-time return-to-office compulsory, as our research clearly shows how highly professionals still value the option to work from home.
Before making any significant changes to their current working model, employers must look at the bigger picture and consider key factors such as the cost of commuting, work-life balance, employee wellbeing, productivity and the host of benefits that hybrid working can bring to their business, in order to retain talent in a tough market.”
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About the research:
The survey on which these findings are based was carried out between 3rd-19th February 2025 and received 8,247 responses from employers and employees working in a range of organisations and sectors across the UK.
Comparisons made in the release refer to research from 2024:
The survey was conducted between the 21st of August – 11th September 2024 and received 10,658 responses
Contact
Contact information for any media enquiries relating to Hays UK and Ireland: PR team number: 020 3040 0282 PR team email: public.relations@hays.com
About Hays
Hays plc (the "Group") is the world’s leading specialist in workforce solutions and recruitment, such as RPO and MSP. The Group is the expert at recruiting qualified, professional, and skilled people worldwide, being the market leader in the UK, Germany, and Australia and one of the market leaders in Continental Europe, Latin America, and Asia. The Group operates across the private and public sectors, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments. As of 30 June 2024, the Group employed over 11,100 staff operating from 236 offices in 33 countries. For the year ended 30 June 2024:
