Who are the hybrid workers?

More than a quarter of working adults in Great Britain (28%) were hybrid working in the autumn of 2024.

That’s from our Opinions and Lifestyle Survey, which asks adults about their well-being and working patterns, from data collected between 2 and 27 October.

We use this survey to monitor how people worked during and after coronavirus (COVID-19) restrictions.

While the trend in working only from home has fallen since 2021, a hybrid-working model (part travelling to work, and part at home), has become the ‘new normal’ for around a quarter of workers.

In 2022, we asked the question, ‘is hybrid working here to stay?’. It appears it is, but for some workers more than others.

Hybrid working appears to have increased since the pandemic

Percentage of working adults by working arrangement, Great Britain, 7 January 2021 to 27 October

Notes:

1. The length of each data collection period presented in this time series may be different.

2. A fourth category “Didn’t work from home and didn’t travel to work’ is not included in this chart.

Looking over a longer time (from April 10 to 30 June 2024) allows us to see more details about who tends to follow these working patterns.

During this period hybrid working was more common among those aged over 30 years, parents, those working as managers or professionals, and those in industries that require less face-to-face contact. Those with higher qualifications were also more likely to hybrid work.

Combining data across different sources shows us a broad picture of who is likely to hybrid work and who is not, and clues as to why this method of work has persisted.

Those working from home saved an average of 56 minutes that day from not commuting, according to our Time Use Survey.

Findings from March 2024 suggest that some of that time was spent on rest, exercise, sports and well-being.

Respondents who worked from home on a given day spent an average of 24 minutes more on ‘sleep and rest’ and 15 minutes more on ‘exercise, sports and well-being’ on the respective day compared with those who worked away from home.

'Improved staff well-being' has continued to be one of the most frequently reported business reasons for using or intending to use increased hybrid- and home-working, according to our Business Insights and Conditions Survey.

Those working from home spent more time on 'sleep and rest', and 'exercise, sports and well-being', on average

Average daily minutes spent on different activities by work location, UK, March 2024

Notes:

1. Main activities on weekdays only, among those working 7 hours or more.

Although there was a slight drop in the average amount of time people working at home said they spent working (10 minutes fewer), we can’t say if this is just down to chance in who was surveyed. Our estimates for time spent working aren’t precise enough to be sure. We also can’t say from this data how time use affects work productivity.

We know some groups of people are more likely to follow homeworking or hybrid working arrangements, which could contribute to time spent on different activities.

Workers aged over 30 years were more likely to hybrid work compared with those in their 20s and younger.

Of people surveyed between April 10 and 30 June 2024, 29% of workers aged 30 years and older followed a hybrid working pattern, compared with 19% for those aged 16 to 29 years old, according to the Opinions and Lifestyle Survey.

Those over 30 years old are more likely to be parents, and to hold managerial positions, both of which may make someone more likely to be a hybrid worker.

We also know from the census that young people aged 16 to 24 years are more likely to have jobs in hospitality and retail, particularly in customer-facing roles that have to be in person, such as waiting or bar work.

Working parents were more likely to hybrid work (35%) compared with working non-parents (24%). This may be because parents find hybrid working helps to facilitate childcare or working around the school day.

Our data did not consider people who have other unpaid care responsibilities, such as caring for an elderly relative or another adult. It’s possible this group would also have a preference for hybrid working as a form of flexible working.

Male working parents were more likely to hybrid work than female working parents (41% compared with 30% respectively).

Workers who are parents are more likely to hybrid work

Percentage among working adults, by parental status and sex, Great Britain, 10 April 2024 to 30 June 2024

Notes:

1. Working adults who said they did not work in the past seven days for any reason.

Close to half (45%) of those in more senior occupations (shown in the chart below as ‘managers, directors and senior officials’) followed a hybrid working model, compared with 27% of all workers. That compares with just 3% of people in 'elementary occupations', such as working on the shop floor in retail or cleaning services, and 3% of people working in ‘caring, leisure and other services’.

Managers and directors may be more likely to be able to carry out desk-based work remotely, even in high-contact industries. For example, a senior manager in a retail company may have more desk-based work while more junior staff in the same company may need to be working in the shops themselves.

Workers in ‘professional occupations’ were also more likely to hybrid work.

Workers in senior and professional occupations are more likely to hybrid work

Percentage among working adults by occupation group, Great Britain, 10 April 2024 to 30 June 2024

This is consistent with our previous analysis on the occupations of people who said they were able to work from home. That analysis also found that people on higher incomes were more likely to be hybrid workers. You can read more in Characteristics of homeworkers, Great Britain: September 2022 to January 2023.

Workers with a degree or equivalent qualification were 10 times more likely to hybrid work than those with no qualifications (42% compared with 4% respectively).

It’s possible people with higher qualification levels have greater access to jobs that can be done remotely. By contrast, workers with lower qualification levels may be more likely to work in sectors, such as hospitality and retail, that require more in-person work.

Workers with a degree or equivalent qualification are more likely to hybrid work

Percentage among working adults by highest level of qualification, Great Britain, 10 April 2024 to 30 June 2024

Notes:

1. ‘Other qualifications’ includes vocational or work-related qualifications, or qualifications achieved outside England and Wales.

Asking businesses about hybrid working shows differences by industry.

Our Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) (surveyed in December 2023) showed that businesses in the ‘information and communication’ industry had the highest share of hybrid working at 49%, closely followed by the ‘professional, scientific and technical activities’ industry at 42%.

Workers in these industries may be programmers, project managers, and computer technicians who are more able to complete their work tasks remotely.

This matches our findings from April 2022, when a similar percentage of these two industries said they were using, or intended to use, increased homeworking as part of a permanent business model.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, businesses operating in the ‘accommodation and food service activities’ industry were the least likely to adopt a hybrid model of working (4%). Other industries with a low uptake of hybrid working included manufacturing, construction and ‘transportation and storage’.

These industries often require site-specific or manual tasks, in-person collaboration, or roles supporting customers face to face.

The IT and 'professional, scientific and technical' industries were most likely to adopt hybrid working

Work location as a percentage of businesses not permanently stopped trading, broken down by industry, weighted by employment, UK, 01 December 2023 to 31 December 2023

Notes:

1. Options ‘not working due to sickness’ and ‘made permanently redundant’ have been excluded for presentational purposes.