Survey reveals businesses that don’t offer hybrid work risk missing out on two-thirds of graduate talent pool

• Research by International Workplace Group has found that half of UK graduates (49%) would not apply for a job that didn’t offer hybrid working
• Graduates say hybrid working is equivalent to a 13% salary increase
• More than half (54%) believe hybrid working is as important as a competitive salary
• This comes as Amazon mandates 5-day office attendance, while major corporations including PwC and Santander require three days out of five

Corporations that do not offer hybrid working risk missing out on the best graduate talent, according to new research released this month.

A study by International Workplace Group among more than 1,000 graduates and students found that half (49%) wouldn’t consider applying to jobs that required them to be in a central office five days a week while a further 18% would need to seriously consider it. This leaves companies that do not offer flexible working arrangements potentially just a third (33%) of graduates to select from when filling their graduate schemes.

The research was undertaken among job seekers that graduated this year and students in their final year at university who are looking for graduate roles and comes as the autumn corporate graduate scheme window opens. It follows the news that large businesses such as Amazon, PwC and Santander have begun to mandate days required in the staff.

The time and money spent commuting was the biggest deterrent (83%) to graduates when considering jobs requited a daily journey into a central office. Graduates felt that hybrid working was equivalent to a 13% boost in salary because of savings made on travel and housing.

This is supported by recent economic analysis by International Workplace Group and Development Economics which found that a 24-year-old Gen Z worker living in a popular commuter town such as Cambridge could expect to save up to £323,458 over the course of their working lifetime by splitting their time between a city centre HQ office and working locally.

While a competitive salary (74%) remains the number one priority for most graduates, more than half (54%) ranked hybrid working and salary as being of equal importance. Hybrid working (62%) was ranked ahead of a range of other key benefits including a desirable office location (56%), workplace culture (53%), access to health insurance (25%) and a good pension scheme (21%).

While younger workers are clear in their preference for hybrid working, they value collaborative time in the office. 63% believe time in the office is necessary to work collaboratively and learn from more senior colleagues while almost all (96%) said balancing time in a central office with local workspaces closer to where they live would be an attractive benefit for future job prospects.

Mark Dixon, CEO of International Workplace Group, said: “Businesses that do not offer hybrid working risk missing out on the best young talent. For many, flexibility is not a perk, but a necessity, and they will not consider jobs that require a long commute five days a week.” 

“Flexible working offers further benefits to businesses beyond employee retention. The hybrid model is proven to boost workforce productivity and job satisfaction while also cutting costs significantly. It’s no surprise therefore that more and more businesses continue to embrace hybrid working for the long term”.