Half of companies have yet to get to grips with hybrid working two years after the Covid-19 pandemic first made business rip up the rule book for working practices.
Some 48% of companies across Europe, the Middle East and Africa responding to a JLL survey said they had not yet developed a “future of work” programme to meet new, post-pandemic demands from employees. That was despite almost all respondents expecting their staff to work remotely for some of each working week.
“Hybrid is here to stay and it is now up to organisations to integrate and optimise flexible working into their future of work programmes,” said Mark Caskey, EMEA chief executive for work dynamics at JLL. “Today’s employees want more: technology that keeps them connected, buildings that are truly sustainable and employers that prioritise their health and wellbeing. Forward-thinking organisations have already stolen a march on the rest of the competition by seeking to address this trend now.”
JLL’s study suggests that the vast majority of the workforce now wants to choose their working hours. The agency’s team said businesses with flexible workplace structures would be best placed to attract and keep the top talent.
“Covid plunged all of us into the ‘great work experiment’,” Caskey said. “We all had to learn quickly, adapt and adjust to the explosion in hybrid working and embrace different ways of engaging with our people, clients and partners. By seeing the trends shaping the future of work, organisations can be more confident in creating the right strategy for their business and the workforce they depend on.”
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