Most new recruits to white-collar jobs are required to spend at least two or three days a week in the office, while roles requiring just one office day are dying out, according to an analysis of job postings.<\/p>\n
Hybrid work<\/a> \u2013 where staff split their time between the office and another location, such as their home \u2013 has cemented itself as the new normal for millions of workers since the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n However, hybrid roles are no longer as flexible as they were<\/a> after the end of the lockdowns, according to the job-search website Indeed\u2019s study of its listings, highlighting ongoing tensions between employees\u2019 expectations and employers\u2019 demands.<\/p>\n The vast majority (85%) of UK hybrid roles posted on Indeed now require at least two days a week in the office, up from 77% in 2024 and 66% in 2023.<\/p>\n More than half (56%) of job postings expect workers to spend two days in the office, while one-quarter (25%) require three office days; just 4% specify attendance on four days.<\/p>\n However, only 15% of postings permit just a single office day each week, down from 22% in 2024 and more than a third of postings in 2023 (34%) and 2022 (35%).<\/p>\n Analysis of jobs across different sectors showed employees in accounting were expected to work from the office most often, for an average of 2.4 days a week, followed by those in human resources (HR) and IT infrastructure roles (2.3 days a week).<\/p>\n Workers in London are expected in the office 2.2 days a week on average \u2013 but those in the north-east had to be in 2.7 days. Photograph: Victoria Jones\/PA<\/p>\n Software developers \u2013 in a role traditionally seen as permitting more remote working \u2013 are also now expected to spend more time at their desks: 2.3 days a week on average, a rise of 0.6 days since 2023. This could be the result of the balance of power swinging back towards employers amid a cooling labour market<\/a>, or a push for more in-person collaboration in organisations.<\/p>\n Architecture and social science jobs had the lowest office attendance requirements, averaging 1.6 days a week.<\/p>\n Jack Kennedy, a senior economist at Indeed, said: \u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing is employers using the softer labour market to push for more face-to-face time, whether that\u2019s to encourage collaboration, rebuild office culture, or simply because they feel they can.<\/p>\n \u201cBut workers continue to prize flexibility, and many will think carefully before accepting roles that don\u2019t offer it.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Sign up to Business Today<\/p>\n Get set for the working day \u2013 we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n Hybrid working requirements also vary by region, with workers in north-east England expected in the office most often (2.7 days a week), followed by those in Wales and south-west England (2.3 days), then London and Scotland (2.2 days).<\/p>\n