Evidence of different needs
Employee research can distinguish between preferences for remote work, focused office work and shared collaboration. A whole-team survey, conducted with strategists and an operations director, found an overwhelming preference for continuing remote work, with the studio serving as a hub for creative collaboration and socialising. Some team members, however, valued the office as somewhere to work without distraction.
Ask employees about both professional and personal circumstances, including living arrangements, caring responsibilities and mental health. Give colleagues across the business an equal voice, rather than treating the majority preference as everyone's ideal arrangement. The survey findings were intended to inform communications and help shape the future business together.
A 2025 CIPD study of UK employees found that 30% of employees would feel uncomfortable requesting formal flexible working, and 31% would feel uncomfortable requesting informal flexibility. A 2025 Gallup survey of US hybrid employees found that 91% of employees whose team determined their hybrid schedule considered the policy fair, compared with 73% whose employer determined it.
Sources: How internal comms leaders can help firms reap the rewards of flexible working, Remote control: why we may never return to work as we knew it