The next PM should embrace hybrid working to help people stay local but go far

All of the candidates remaining in the race to replace Boris Johnson as Prime Minister are committed to delivering the core aims of his flagship levelling up policy agenda. How they get there, however, could end up looking very different.

Taking steps to harness the trend that is well underway towards greater hybrid working never seemed a priority for Boris Johnson, in spite of the Treasury Select Committee and others highlighting the important role these shifts can play in raising growth and productivity. As the Government reckons with how to raise real wages for workers and address low productivity, now is the time to remind ourselves of hybrid working’s ability to deliver real benefits to local communities and businesses throughout the country. 

Seizing the UK’s hybrid working potential 

The pandemic led to a transformation in the UK’s working practices as video-conferencing and working from home became the norm for millions of people almost overnight. This rapid transition helped position the UK as a leader among the G7 in the adoption of digital technology, and the UK is today in a position to keep leading the way as remote working has continued into the post-pandemic world. 

Research from the Office for National Statistics shows that 85% of UK workers who worked remotely during the pandemic now want to adopt a hybrid approach going forward, and 79% of leaders plan to adopt remote working long term according to an Institute of Directors poll. If fully embraced, the shift to hybrid working stands to benefit workers, employers, and the economy as a whole. Not only does it give workers more of the flexibility large majorities crave, remote and hybrid working can raise productivity, and could provide a £76 billion boost to UK GDP over the next four years.

Hybrid working can help level up the country

The benefits of greater hybrid working are already playing out locally. As recruitment data from Indeed for Zoom’s recent report shows, there is a strong correlation between the towns and cities in the UK that have seen the most significant growth in remote job opportunities over the last two years, and the strength of their job market overall. Interestingly, the top 25 areas that saw the biggest increase in remote working opportunities are distributed across the UK, with ten of these in the ‘Red Wall’. This includes Burnley and Stoke, which experienced a 391% and 323% increase in the number of remote roles respectively. 

But how does an increase in remote working translate into benefits for the local area? As jobs become untethered from a physical location, areas outside of cities and commuter belts where people tend to need to live if they have to be in a set place five days a week, will become increasingly viable for people to move to. This stands to help with housing affordability issues in many places, and given that three quarters of ‘remote’ jobs pay above average salaries, this should raise spending power in those communities, strengthening local economies and their high streets. And as the country faces an on-going cost of living crisis, hybrid working can help reduce costs associated with commuting long distances while expanding opportunities to every community. 

To drive this forward, at Zoom we are calling on the next Prime Minister to publish an independent evaluation of the shift to hybrid working, following the Irish Government’s example, and develop a 'hybrid working strategy'. They should also look to stimulate the creation of a network of local co-working hubs to provide workers, no matter where they live, with the option of a ‘third space’ from which to work (in addition to their home or office). Having somewhere professional and accessible near to where you live to work from can, as in Ireland, play an important role in enabling people to pursue their dream jobs without feeling that they need to move away from where they are from.This is already being implemented in ambitious places like Hull, which has launched ‘Work Hull Work Happy’, an initiative which aims to make Hull the co-working capital of the UK and which Zoom is proud to support.

Whoever leads our country in September will need to demonstrate how they are tackling some of today’s challenges head on. Publishing a hybrid working strategy is a strong place to start.