Workers keen for a remote or hybrid job in the UK and Ireland will be relieved to know that hybrid jobs are on a steady rebound in Q1 2024 after facing a concerning drop just towards the end of last year.
Global employment website Indeed has published figures showing the share of job postings containing either remote or hybrid terms throughout the UK region, and found that figures are steadily reaching the levels they were at near the start of 2023.
Hybrid job postings are near an all-time high. (Canva photo)
This is significant considering that remote or hybrid job postings were at an all-time high back then — even higher than they were during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
Even more, it shows hybrid jobs are withstanding the test of time as countless jobs around the world urge employees to return to office (RTO) with ad-hoc mandates and often even under the threat of termination.
Indeed Hiring Lab Economic Jack Kennedy noted, “There was much focus on return-to-office in 2023, but the share of UK job postings on Indeed mentioning remote or hybrid flexibility held up.
“As of the end of December, 15.8% of UK job postings on Indeed mentioned the potential for remote or hybrid work, largely in line with the May 2023 peak of 16.3%.”
Hybrid work is the way of the day
Statistics show hybrid work is quickly becoming the prominent working model in the UK — and some experts suggest it already is.
According to Kennedy, the high percentage of hybrid jobs is because employers are still mindful of the strong preference for remote work amongst the UK workforce.
Statistics suggest hybrid work could become the prevalent working model in the UK. (Canva photo)
“Though the labour market has softened (and categories that typically feature a large share of remote-eligible jobs, including tech, have slowed sharply), employers remain conscious of jobseekers’ preferences for location flexibility in a still-somewhat-tight market for talent,” he said.
Several independent surveys have shown that most UK employees are working remotely at least a few days out of every week, in positions where it is possible to do so.
Fully remote jobs are not as common. But many fully in-person jobs are headed in the same direction, with an increasing number of businesses saying they plan to cut back on office work in the months ahead.
Meanwhile, a study by Randstad found that the UK was one of the top 3 regions where most workers are willing to quit their jobs if pressured to spend more time working in-office.
Most workers automatically expect at least some form of remote work to be offered and consider it a non-negotiable, especially with Flex-from-1st laws quickly approaching.
Kennedy noted, “The share of searches containing remote or hybrid terms was 2.7% at year-end (2023), near its all-time high of 3.0% and up tenfold from pre-pandemic levels.”
Find the latest remote jobs in the UK via RemoteWorker.co.uk.
Source: https://www.hiringlab.org/uk/blog/2024/01/29/january-2024-uk-labour-market-update/
