A survey of UK business leaders and C-suite executives has found that many businesses may have to wait to adopt a hybrid working model because of being locked into a long-term lease.
This key finding in a survey that forms part of a new white paper published by flexspace operator, Clarendon, suggests that while hybrid work is being lauded as the solution to the post-pandemic workplace, it may not be easy for many companies to make an immediate switch.
Other notable barriers to hybrid working were a lack of experience with flexspace and worries about losing company culture. The survey also asked respondents about their workplace priorities, with employee wellbeing, financial security / reduced financial risk, and talent attraction and retention being the top three.
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The paper includes an in-depth Q&A with Piers Barttelot, a Corporate Real Estate Executive. He notes that: “It seems like most organisations will adopt a hybrid approach” and that the pandemic has “made flexspace providers go back to one of their traditional tenets, which is ultimate flexibility.”
Julian Cooper, Managing Director at Clarendon, commented: “The last year has demonstrated that a lot of people can work from home, but also that the office certainly has a big part to play in a healthy and productive workplace. Flexspace will be essential for businesses looking to adopt a new workplace model thanks to the agility it offers with finances, location and scalability. The switch to hybrid will be a gradual one as businesses need to plan for an overcome various barriers.”