Why a hybrid of home and office working lies ahead - Beckie Hart

Daily routines have been interrupted, and workers forced to adapt or relocate as companies reimagine their operating models and routes to market. In short, the pandemic has challenged us do everything differently.

Companies across Yorkshire and the Humber have risen to that challenge and from today, will have to rise to that challenge once more as we enter a second national lockdown. They have demonstrated the ingenuity and determination we’ve come to expect from the private sector in meeting this crisis head-on.

But they haven’t stopped there. Rather than just making the short-term changes needed to survive 2020, they have gone above and beyond in laying the groundwork for better business for years to come.

Innovation and adoption of new technology has accelerated markedly. Investment in new methods has grown. And a reshaping of both the workplace and working day has brought welcome benefits – many of which will rightly endure far beyond the Covid crisis.

You don’t have to take my word for any of this – it’s what businesses in our (and across the whole UK) have told us in a new CBI survey, run in partnership with Ipsos MORI and sponsored by Accenture and Hays Recruitment. The survey findings were published on Monday ahead of the CBI’s Annual Conference and paint a hugely positive picture of business aspirations and behaviour going forward.

Stated ambitions include a sharp new focus on employee wellbeing and greater emphasis on issues like net-zero, diversity and inclusion, and local communities.

Business has used the upheaval stemming from the pandemic as an opportunity to take stock – and is now firmly committed not to simply returning to the old ‘normal’, but instead targeting meaningful and lasting change. Building back better is no longer just a slogan.

For many, one of the top priorities will be figuring out what their future workplace looks like. The sharp rise in home-working has given rise in some quarters to fears that offices – and the business eco-systems which rely on them – are a thing of the past. But overwhelmingly, companies say their offices will survive, albeit they will be utilised in a different way.

That means a desk-based 9-5, five days a week, is unlikely to return for the majority – but full-time home-working will not endure either. For most, a hybrid of home and workplace lies ahead, with traditional offices reinvented as spaces for collaboration, training and team activities. Less than a fifth of office space is expected to be surrendered.

These anticipated changes are rated as positive by both employers and workers, with improved work/life balance and less travel – accompanied by a reduced carbon footprint – cited as key pluses.

On this latter point, two-thirds of respondents told us they are actively targeting measures that will take them towards net-zero as part of a deliberate drive to have a more positive impact on society.

A similar number are striving to increase diversity and inclusion in their business. And a majority also want to do more to engage with and support their local community.

Good businesses have a long-standing commitment to acting responsibly and showing their worth to society. The pandemic has accelerated these efforts, and now, more than ever, companies in Yorkshire and the Humber want the public, their employees, customers and suppliers to recognise them as the force for good I know that they are.

They are listening to their employees, customers and communities.

Beckie Hart - Regional Director, Yorkshire and the Humber, CBI