Flexible Working Under Threat From Economic Uncertainty Says LinkedIn

Demand for flexible employment has been rising for years. Still, the pandemic turbo-charged the trend—many of us have come to appreciate the benefits of working from home, for example, and are not keen to relinquish them. A PwC survey concludes that almost a fifth (19%) of employees intend henceforth to work entirely remotely, whereas 37% prefer a hybrid pattern, while just 22% want to return to an office full-time.

For many of us, working from home has become routine. And it’s an arrangement fostering many benefits—greater flexibility, more freedom and less time spent commuting, according to research undertaken by Rita Fontinha and James Walker, Directors of Henley Business School’s World of Work Institute, which identified disdain for commuting among employees’ reasons for opting to work from home—62% of respondents said this was their key reason to choosing flexible working.

That said, while many researchers predicted remote working trends would continue post-pandemic, as employers and employees alike came to appreciate the apparent benefits, economic concerns in many parts of the world have put a spanner in the works.

New global C-level research from LinkedIn, which surveyed 2,929 C-level executives from organisations reporting turnovers of $280M, concludes that the current climate is indeed causing concern among leaders that will force companies to wind back progress on important areas of working life such as flexible work (68%), skills development (74%), and employee wellbeing (75%). This striking finding highlights a growing disconnect between what professionals require and what employers are now offering, with the balance of power shifting back to employers as hiring slows.

Moreover, many bosses are using the pandemic as an opportunity to reset their workplace strategy, which will likely impact employee benefits—causing a further disconnect. For example, this month, TCS, India’s largest IT services company, sent emails to employees mandating they work from an office at least three days a week.

Meanwhile, in the UK, demonstrators this weekend called on the government to introduce flexible working reforms. Currently, parents face the second most expensive childcare in the world, the least generous parental leave and the longest working hours among European countries. This leaves little time for parents to spend with their children or to take on other caring responsibilities, such as caring for elderly relatives. Thus, it is simply not affordable for many families to entertain anything other than flexible work.

In the US, Yahoo and Bank of America have been quick to roll back their remote working policies, citing concerns about productivity and collaboration. And while some researchers believe this is a knee-jerk reaction, others think it could mark the beginning of a more permanent shift back to the office.

So what does this all mean for the future of work? It’s hard to say for sure. But one thing is certain—the pandemic has changed how many employees want to work. “We can’t go back,” said Josh Graff, LinkedIn’s managing director of EMEA and LATAM, in an email. He continued, “Companies that pull back on flexible working and learning and development risk demotivating their workforce and pushing people to competitors that offer more attractive options. As a result, flexibility will increasingly become a survival issue for many businesses.”

There are significant implications regarding Graff’s observation for organizations around the world. But there are also opportunities for those that embrace change and adapt to the new reality. According to LinkedIn’s Global Talent Trends report, employees’ top priorities in employers today, beyond compensation, are flexible work, skills development and work-life balance. Unfortunately, this puts them at odds with many employers’ priorities: business continuity, cost reduction and operational efficiency.

So what will happen next?

The pandemic has forced organizations to change their operations, and the appetite among employees for flexible working is evidently to stay. But as we enter the post-pandemic world, leaders must take stock of what’s essential to their employees and ensure they’re putting them first. Otherwise, they risk losing them to competitors more attuned to the new reality of work. Ultimately, those that invest in their employees today will reap the rewards tomorrow. And, after all, isn’t that what the future of work is all about?