What Employees Really Want From Hybrid Working Policies

In 2019, the world of work went remote; in 2023, it returned to the office, albeit reluctantly.

Enter hybrid working.

In 2023, only 20% of companies had implemented hybrid policies; in 2024, that number rose to 38%, and again in 2025 to 42%, according to the Flex Index workplace survey. Research suggests hybrid policies improve employee retention and reduce turnover, with professionals citing their personal experiences and some job seekers seeing hybrid work as a bare minimum expectation. However, research published by The Conversation suggests that employees have mixed feelings towards hybrid working models.

So, what do employees really want from their working models?

Remote vs Hybrid Working

As the call for return-to-office sounded post-COVID-19 pandemic, there was a lot of backlash from office workers who now preferred working from home and had no desire to return to desk jockeying under harsh fluorescent lights, in small cubicles, sitting next to people they only pretended to like.

What was big corporate’s response?

“You’re missing out on the culture” “Working from home is making you lazy” “You need to be in the office to do your job properly”.

Whilst some companies still enforced this return-to-office policy despite the backlash, several firms adopted more hybrid working models, and some allowed employees to remain fully remote.

Pro Hybrid: The Research

In a research paper published in Nature, a six-month study was conducted to investigate the effects of hybrid working from home on 1,612 employees at a Chinese technology company. The results of this study were that hybrid working improved job satisfaction and reduced quit rates by one-third. The reduction in quit rates was significant for non-managers, female employees, and those with long commutes. Equivalence tests showed that hybrid did not affect performance grades over the next two years of review.

Finally, it was found that the 395 managers in the experiment revised their survey responses about the effect of hybrid working on productivity, from a perceived negative effect (-2.6% on average) before the experiment to a perceived positive effect (+1.0%) after the experiment.

Anti-Hybrid: The Research

In research conducted by The Conversation, they tracked a group of employees from three large companies in the financial services sector starting in 2022. One company decided to fully return-to-office, one chose to stay fully remote, and one adopted hybrid policies.

In each case, employees had mixed responses to the policy. Office work was preferred by 50% of employees, remote work by 62%, and the hybrid working model by only 44%.

Checking back in 2025, approval rose to 60% for return-to-office, 72% for fully remote, and 63% for hybrid.

However, in the hybrid company, only half of those who preferred hybrid in 2022 had the same outlook in 2025. The other half now said they preferred either in-office or remote work. The hybrid policy had gained new support, but lost half of its original fans.

Those preferring the office cited better collaboration and relationship-building opportunities as their reasoning, and those who preferred remote work cited personal arrangements as a key driver.

What Do Employees Actually Want?

According to research from Newcastle University, employees want genuine flexibility, autonomy, and trust. Rather than rigid in-office quotas or subjective “facetime”, staff want policies based on clear, task-focused deliverables. They also demand equal opportunities for career advancement and transparent boundaries to protect their personal time.

Autonomy Over Schedules: Employees prefer the freedom to choose when and where they work. They want to match their tasks to their personal energy levels without being penalised.
Task-Driven Office Days: Staff dislike going to the office just to sit on video calls. They prefer going in for intentional collaboration, brainstorming, and team building, while using remote days for independent, focused work.
Output Over Presentism: Workers want to be judged on what they achieve, not on their physical desk presence. Many feel that in-office “presentism” undermines genuine productivity.
Protection Against Proximity Bias: Employees expect fair treatment. They want equal access to promotions, training, and leadership roles, regardless of their in-office status.
Clear, Consistent Guidelines: The biggest frustration is “productivity paranoia” and managers making up rules as they go. Workers want transparent policies that clearly outline expectations and eliminate guesswork.

Good hybrid working implementation answers three things:

Why are we coming in?
When do we protect focus time?
How do we communicate without chaos?

Unmet Flexible Working Demands

In a study conducted by the CIPD titled Flexible and Hybrid Working Practices in 2025, when asked about the types of flexible working arrangements they would use if available to them, employees pointed to a range of options, particularly the 4-day week (without a reduction in pay) (45%), compressed hours (25%), and flexi-time (20%).

In the same study, employees raised concerns about unequal access to flexible working, with two-fifths of employers saying that only some (28%) or only a few (12%) of employees are able to work flexibly.

Lastly, a lack of flexibility has prompted job changes. 3% of employees say they have left a job in the last year due to a lack of flexible working. That represents around 1.1 million workers in total.

The Benefits of Hybrid Working

Better Work-Life Balance: Eliminating the daily commute saves time and money, giving employees more hours in the day to manage personal responsibilities, pursue hobbies, or simply rest.
Enhanced Productivity and Focus: Remote days provide the quiet required for deep-focus tasks, free from standard office interruptions. Conversely, office days provide dedicated spaces for in-person collaboration, brainstorming, and team bonding.
Cost Savings: Employees save extensively on fuel, public transport, and lunches. Employers save on real estate footprints, utilities, and office supplies.
Broader Talent Acquisition: Employers can hire beyond geographic limits, expanding their reach to global or remote talent while supporting candidates who need greater scheduling flexibility, such as caregivers or those with disabilities.
Increased Job Satisfaction: Research shows that flexible work models are strongly associated with higher job satisfaction, improved mental health, and reduced employee burnout.