New research from Grant Thornton UK LLP’s latest Business Outlook Tracker* has revealed that, prior to the implementation of ‘Plan B’ and the return of work from home guidance, hybrid working was being adopted by many mid-market firms in the East of England, but that more than a third were still facing challenges with its implementation.

The survey of mid-sized businesses found that a hybrid working approach, where people split their time between working remotely and in an office, was the most common working practice in early December with 84% of the region’s businesses working this way.

Despite the vast majority of businesses operating in this manner, 38% said that they were not finding it to be effective. The research identified that the main working style challenges for those respondents adopting a hybrid working approach, are:

• The provision of training remotely (50%)
• Mental wellbeing (48%)
• Managing the work of more junior staff (38%)
• Loss of culture (36%)

Hybrid and remote working, as well as the issues it can create, are going to remain the norm for many businesses, with Boris Johnson confirming that ‘Plan B’ and its work from home guidance is going to stay in force until at least the end of January.

James Brown, Partner and Practice Leader at Grant Thornton UK LLP in the East of England, said: “It’s clear that hybrid working is here to stay and it can offer many benefits to companies and their people, from saving costs on reduced office space to a better work-life balance. However, as our research shows, a number of businesses in the East are still struggling to make this style of work as effective as the predominantly office-based status quo we were used to pre-COVID-19.

“To be truly effective, hybrid working takes time and commitment and unfortunately there is no one size fits all approach. The whole market is on a learning curve to experiment and find the best method that works for them and ensure their people continue to feel connected and supported by their business and their teams, wherever they work.

“As we move into 2022 it’s going to be important for firms to remain open to evolving and challenging themselves as to how they can make hybrid working more effective. This enhanced agility could be achieved in a number of ways, such as investing in new technology that helps teams to train, communicate and stay connected or providing additional guidance on how work is organised and co-ordinated. With uncertainty likely to be with us for some time to come, those businesses that can embed flexibility into their everyday working practises are going to find it much easier to manage the next twist or turn that’s ahead of us.”