The number of employers opting for hybrid working is rising | Property Forum

Three in five employers (59%) will ultimately embrace hybrid working – this represents a 14 pp increase on the June 2021 survey. Global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield has published the results of its survey of 103 decision-makers in office space management in Poland.

30% of employers affirming their transition to a hybrid work model will allow their employees to decide how many days they would like to work in the office and at home, which represents an increase of 3 pp compared to the previous survey. The second most popular hybrid model – preferred by 28% of respondents – foresees a maximum of two out-of-office days per week and is followed by three days of remote working (favoured by 21%). One and four out-of-office working days per week are the preferred options by 11% and 10% of respondents opting for hybrid working, respectively.

The traditional workplace model was indicated as the targeted policy by close to 27% of the survey respondents, three quarters of whom would permit remote working in exceptional circumstances.

14% of respondents have not developed return-to-the-office plans yet, down by 16 pp on the June 2021 survey, and none of the respondents would opt for 100% remote work.

“Employees from companies across Poland which have not officially implemented hybrid working policies and lack relevant consistent and clear communication strategies say that uncertainty is the worst,” says Joanna Szczepańska, Associate, Workplace Strategy, Office Agency, Cushman & Wakefield.

“According to the survey, only 14% of companies have not introduced any workplace regulations – a clear minority. Hybrid working is a clear preference for 59% of employers. However, no matter what scenario is employed, rather than ‘copy and paste’, workplace models should be tailored to the needs of employees and business requirements. Interestingly enough, Cushman & Wakefield’s survey has revealed that over a third of all the companies which have embraced hybrid working give their employees full location flexibility. They are agile self-organising teams. The need for personal development, social bonding, autonomy, physical comfort, job satisfaction and being effective is the same both in the office and at home, for both senior managers and career starters. Being in the office, we expect to be able to do heads down work, while working at home we still want to establish and maintain close connections with colleagues, which is broadly believed to be the domain of in-office working. Freedom of choice is the key and the motivation to work stems from a sense of meaning and a positive experience.”

“What is also important is who decides where employees work and what the decision drivers are. We have noticed that unfortunately if there are no official hybrid working policies or ‘sponsors’ promoting a new approach in an organisation, guidelines on the number of in-office working days per week are usually given by middle-level managers. Such managers are also responsible for managing hybrid teams and multigenerational work environments, implementing new processes, automation and – recently quite frequently – for intensive recruitment,” adds Joanna Szczepańska.

“As a result, prototyping and experience learning, regular feedback, measuring space utilization and employee satisfaction, monitoring team productivity, engaging managers and drawing conclusions are all important to the process.”

The survey was conducted using the CAWI method in June 2022 on a sample of 103 decision-makers in office space management (CEOs, Heads of Administration, Chief Operating Officers and Office Managers).