From the CIPD – Flexible and hybrid working practices in 2025

This report explores the current state of flexible and hybrid working practices in the UK more than a year on from the implementation of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023. Amid global uncertainties, economic headwinds and a raft of employment law changes that employers must grapple with, we examine both employer and employee perspectives to see how trends in flexible and hybrid working are shaping and impacting performance, employee engagement and wellbeing among other important organisational outcomes.

The report builds on previous CIPD survey findings and provides organisations and policy-makers with an understanding of the implications as well as recommendations on both practical actions and strategic considerations. While these findings are based on UK data, the broader trends and implications should be of interest wherever you are based.

Key findings

• Availability of flexible working and use. The vast majority of employers (91%) say they offer some kind of flexible working arrangement. Employees say they are most likely to make use of working from home in normal working hours (50%) and flexi-time (38%).
• Unmet demand for some types of flexible working. When asked about the types of flexible working arrangements they would use if available to them, employees pointed to a range of options, particularly the 4-day week (without a reduction in pay) (45%), compressed hours (25%) and flexi-time (20%).
• Advertising a role’s flexibility is important for attraction. 61% of employers believe it is important for them to provide flexible working as an option when advertising jobs to attract staff and address skills or labour shortages.
• Access to flexible working is not equal. Two-fifths of employers say that just some (28%) or only a few (12%) employees are able to work flexibly.
• Impact of the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Act 2023. 18% of employers have experienced an increase in flexible working requests since the introduction of the day one right to request flexible working. However, 30% of employees say they wouldn’t feel comfortable requesting formal flexible working (a change to a contract), and a similar proportion (31%) say the same about requesting informal flexibility (without a change to contract).  
• Hybrid working and impact. 74% of organisations say they have hybrid working in place, reduced slightly from 84% in a similar CIPD survey in 2023.  When looking at the wider impact of hybrid working, employers are most likely to say it has brought a positive impact for:
  • attraction and retention of talent
  • the ability to recruit from a wider geography in the UK
  • employee financial wellbeing
  • the environment.
• Employers are most likely to say hybrid has brought a negative impact for:
  • the ability of managers to lead teams effectively
  • employee connection to organisation purpose
  • the culture of the organisation
• Mandatory workplace attendance. 65% of organisations require employees to be in the workplace a minimum number of days per week/month. Overall, 14% of all employers that allow hybrid working are planning to either introduce or increase the number of mandatory days in the workplace over the next 12 months.
• Perceptions of organisational productivity remain positive. 41% of employers believe that an increase in home/hybrid working has led to increased productivity/efficiency in their organisation, although 16% believe it has decreased productivity/efficiency.
• Working flexibly has had a positive impact on quality of life and career prospects. 80% of employees say that working flexibly has had a positive impact on their quality of life while a third believe that working flexibly has had a positive impact on their career.
• Lack of flexibility prompting job changes for some. 3% of employees say they have left a job in the last year (since January 2024) due to a lack of flexible working. That represents around 1.1 million workers in total.

Case studies

Read our new case studies to find out how other organisations are managing flexible and hybrid working:

• Coffee Break Languages: A flexible four-day week model
• Northrop Grumman UK: Introducing a compressed fortnight working model
• Phoenix Group: Developing a flexible work culture by encouraging flexibility in when, how and where employees work
• RSPCA: Implementing flexible hybrid working as part of modernising the employee experience

Earlier case studies with insight from other employers:

• Pearson: Embracing flexible working to future proof the business
• Principality Building Society: Listen, learn and adapt
• Scottish Water: Promoting work-life balance through flexible working
• Zenith: Supporting and engaging leaders to balance the needs of the customer, team and colleagues