Picture this... Voscur’s office is busier today than it has been for the past two years. While we’re by no means full, there are lots of us here and the consensus seems to be that it’s good to see one another in person. As a member of staff who has joined the organisation during the pandemic, I for one am certainly benefiting from increased contact with my very knowledgeable colleagues.

But we also realise that going back to pre-Covid patterns of work is not something that will work for everyone. Some of my colleagues live a good drive/park and ride from work, some deliver online training that is easier from a quiet home than a noisy office, and some have responsibilities and needs that mean being at home makes more sense.

It’s with these factors and many more in mind that the conversations around hybrid and flexible working are taking place. And there’s data that can inform this conversation, with 90% of those who responded saying they’d like flexible working to continue long term, and over 40% saying they would not apply for a job that stipulated office only.

The research has led to a number of recommendations, including ensuring that flexibility should be available to everyone in an organisation; that organisations need to ensure it’s the norm to discuss flexibility, something that should feed into job design; and that, when it comes to flexibility, role modelling from leaders really matters.

At Voscur we are keen to tap into this, and are considering a series of training sessions that explore how organisations get teams back together, including how hybrid/flexible working can work from an organisational point of view. If you would like to influence this work, please contact tom.burnett@voscur.org