Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study

We're delighted to launch our interim report of some of our survey and interview findings on disabled workers’ experiences of remote and hybrid working - supported by @nuffieldfoundation.org.

lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

Read all about the findings below ⬇️

A great 🧵here from @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social on the need for more actual evidence and research across the back-to-office debate, rather than the "gut feelings" of individuals 👇

New research reveals where in Great Britain people with a disability find it hardest to be in employment The five areas in Great Britain where disabled people are least likely to be in employment compared with non-disabled people have been revealed in a new report from the University of Sheffield.

Important New Year reading here, with this final report of a project exploring regional differences in the disability employment gap. Results show strong correlation between the size of the DEG and levels of economic deprivation across an area: well worth a deep dive into the data (see👇for more).

Had a great time on Friday filming for the first stage of production on our @irhws.bsky.social film 📽️ The idea is to give disabled workers a chance to talk about their remote & hybrid working experiences in their own words. Watch this space for the final product in the spring!

This speaks to today's report from the Work Foundation exploring the linkages between job quality and ill health (link below), as well as our findings for the @irhws.bsky.social project about the need for inclusive flexible working models to retain people with disabilities/ill health in employment.

Stemming the tide: Healthier jobs to tackle economic inactivity - Lancaster University New Work Foundation research aims to provide new evidence, insights and policy direction for how Government and employers can work together to retain more people who experience health issues in employ...

Great to see this report published today by my project colleagues at the Work Foundation on the need to improve job quality to more effectively tackle economic inactivity across the UK. Access to flexible working models and concerted employer support at the onset of ill health considered crucial 👀

Working From Home Was Supposed to Be the Big Revolution. The numbers tell a different story The hybrid work dream and who gets to live it

A brilliant exploration here from my colleague @asliatay.bsky.social on the inequalities concerning who has access to flexible working models in 2024, and the need for bolder action in expanding the right to flexibility to millions more workers across the UK: well worth a read.

Can flexible job design help people with fluctuating disabilities? In this blog piece, Catherine Hale outlines the early findings of a new study exploring the flexible working practices in the post-COVID era and their impact on disability employment outcomes.

Some fascinating findings emerging from @benbgeiger.bsky.social & team's FlexPlus project (details of study below), particularly around the need for employers and job design considerations to be a key part of exploring how to help people with disabilities thrive in the workplace: well worth a read 👀

Designing inclusive remote and hybrid working to support disabled workers - Nuffield Foundation Research from the Nuffield Foundation is investigating how working from home and hybrid working can be designed to support disabled workers.

Reflecting on a fascinating time as part of the Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study over the past two years, as we approach the project's conclusion: 1,300 survey participants and 90 individual interviews later, really excited to be at the writing-up stage now. Final report in the spring!

One Company A/B Tested Hybrid Work. Here’s What They Found. Since the pandemic, executives have had to rethink their work-from-home policies to better support their companies’ bottom line. Recent research conducted in a real company showed that employees who w...

Interesting findings here from a hybrid working case study, with rises in retention & job satisfaction rates among other positive metrics: and, crucially, a productivity rise that went counter to an expected drop. Highlights the mindset challenge for employers in accepting flexible working models.

Thank you to @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social for highlighting our findings on how to make remote and hybrid working models more inclusive at the international level today, presenting at a webinar for Dutch Accessibility Week: great to be collaborating and engaging across borders for this project!

The Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study goes international today for Dutch Accessibility Week, with @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social presenting (in fluent Dutch!) our preliminary findings at a webinar in collaboration with researchers at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences 🌍

Microsoft won't follow an Amazon-style RTO policy unless productivity slows, exec tells employees in an internal meeting Amazon's RTO mandate starts in January. Other Big Tech companies are taking different approaches so far.

Good to see Microsoft not following Amazon's lead on demanding a full return to the office, and highlighting a thoughtful approach to flexible working: for context, the company have had a hybrid working model in place since 2022, and has increased its revenue by 15% year-over-year since then.

A thought bubble with the words "share your thoughts" inside

As part of our project exploring how to make remote and hybrid work more inclusive for those with disabilities and long-term health conditions, we are keen to interview employers about their own experiences in working in these ways: if you would like your voice heard, do please get in touch!

What Amazon Can Expect With Getting Rid Of Remote Work Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is mandating 5 days in the office for all employees. Here’s 3 things to expect when transitioning from a remote to an in-person work environment.

An interesting read about the short-termist nature of back-to-office mandates:

"Businesses need to thoroughly self-assess and listen to their employees prior to making any organizational changes. A culture issue is not solved by making people vacate their home desk for an assigned cubicle seat."

Workers and Employers Diverge on Return to Office | NORC at the University of Chicago Employer mandates and the nature of people’s jobs are the main reasons people are working in-person, according to a recent survey of employees. A survey of HR representatives finds about 9 in 10 emplo...

It may not be what some employers want to hear, but making time working in the office more voluntarily attractive to workers (rather than relying on mandates) is an increasingly important part of employee engagement strategies: even more so for workers with disabilities and/or health conditions.

Hard not to see predictions like this as anything other than increasingly out of touch with the labour market in 2024: access to flexible working models is an important recruitment and retention tool for those employers who have embraced it, and reversing these new ways of working is unrealistic.

The Financial Advantages Of A Hybrid Work Model: A Hybrid Work Expert’s Perspective Hybrid work models combine remote and on-site work, which allows companies to take advantage of increased productivity and reduced costs while maintaining the benefits of face-to-face interaction.

While the headlines are currently dominated by large employers demanding a return to a five-day office week, we are keen to speak to organisations who have continued with remote and/or hybrid working to better understand their experiences: do please get in touch if you'd like your voice heard!

The great divide: are office workers more productive than those at home? Amazon has told staff they must return five days a week – but experts don’t all agree that flexible working cuts output

Disappointing to see the absence in this article of any arguments highlighting the benefits that disabled workers and those with a health condition can derive from remote/hybrid working: our conversations with employers have shown benefits for them, too (inc. sickness rates/productivity/retention).