Hybrid headaches | Half of employers say absence now more difficult to manage

Half of employers say that adopting a hybrid working model in their organisation has made it more difficult to manage staff absence, according to a new survey by employment law and HR consultancy WorkNest.

Since the pandemic forced a wide scale work-from-home experiment, 83% of organisations have adopted a hybrid work model permanently. With this way of working often cited as the most-desired employee benefit and employees now having the legal right to request flexible working from day one of their employment, it is likely that the demand to work on a hybrid basis will only increase further.

However, this remains uncharted territory for some employers. Employees have become more accustomed to this newfound flexibility and organisations are encountering a raft of new challenges as employees test the limits of what is acceptable within a hybrid working framework.  

When expectations around office attendance begin to slip

Almost 6 in 10 employers questioned by WorkNest agree that their employees push the boundaries of a hybrid working environment, with a catalogue of reasons given for working from home. As a result, employers are finding it increasingly difficult to distinguish between general resistance to being in the office and legitimate protected reasons such as disability. Establishing clear policies and guidance around hybrid working therefore has become more crucial than ever before.