Index reveals the best and worst places in the UK to be a hybrid worker
The pandemic heralded a new era of remote and now hybrid working – and official figures indicate it’s been a resounding success. Some 80% of employees who worked remotely during Covid say they prefer hybrid working models, although they recognise both the benefits and challenges it can bring.
We know from our own research with the University of Nottingham that while many hybrid workers are generally happy and enthusiastic, others need help with reduced social interaction and the logistical challenges of not being in an office.
Working environments have always impacted how well people perform – and in the hybrid world, their home is as important as the office.
It’s easy to imagine someone living in comfortable surroundings being happier, calmer and more productive than colleagues struggling for space in cramped shared homes full of distractions. On the other hand, those who live alone may now be at greater risk of social isolation and have the added worry of being unable to share rising domestic energy costs.
To complement the University of Nottingham’s study, we undertook separate research to find out which parts of the UK workers are the worst and best for hybrid workers.
We took nine data points, including the number of occupants in a property, the availability of superfast broadband, and salaries to create the Hybrid Working Inclusion Index.
We gave each location an index score out of 100 (with 100 being the worst) for each separate data point with equal weighing, adding up each score over the nine data points to calculate an overall Inclusion Index Score out of 900. The ones with the lowest score were the most inclusive.
Best places in the UK for hybrid workers
We found that Swansea is the best place for hybrid workers in the UK.
House prices are among the lowest in the country at an average of £193,426, which could be why household occupancy levels are also low, with less than a third of homes having three or more people living there. Residents can also access some of the cheapest superfast broadband packages at £27.69 per month – whereas people in some UK towns and cities are paying nearly £40.
Superfast broadband – essential for hybrid working – is also one of the cheapest at £27.69 per month. In contrast, residents living in London, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Birmingham can expect to pay nearly £40.
Middlesbrough has the lowest house prices although low salaries and high broadband costs mean it failed to make our top 10.
Worst places in the UK for hybrid workers
Slough – the setting for TV comedy show The Office – is the worst place for hybrid workers, according to our data.
Contributing to the high score of 592 is the fact that well over half of households – more than 54% – have three or more occupants, meaning space for effectively working from home is more likely to be in short supply.
Compare this to Norwich and Blackpool, where just 29% of households have three or more occupants.
Located just outside London, house prices in Slough are the sixth highest in the country at an average of £427,065 which could explain why housing is more overcrowded. Luton had the second highest proportion (47%) of households with three or more occupants – but with average house prices of £302,455, and cheaper broadband, it fared marginally better in our index.
More people in a home doesn’t only make it more difficult to find space, it can put pressure on broadband connections if members of the household are using multiple devices at the same time.
What is the impact of this?
Hybrid has changed the employment landscape almost beyond recognition – and technology has become a great leveller.
No longer required to be in the office every day, employees can apply for higher-paying jobs in expensive big cities without having to live there in person or balance work with family responsibilities.
Many house hunters today will no doubt look for properties that are suitable for one or more people to work comfortably from home for part of the week on a permanent basis.
Yet only some have the choice. Our data suggests that while hybrid working offers multiple benefits, and people are overwhelmingly in favour of it, some are excluded because of vast regional differences in house prices, occupancy rates and broadband costs.
With the rising cost of energy, those who’re already financially struggling could find that working from home becomes too expensive.
Commenting on the findings, Claire Scott, Chief Employee Success Officer at The Access Group said:
“Government figures suggest that people who worked remotely during the pandemic are overwhelmingly in favour of hybrid working – which is no surprise given the freedom and flexibility it can bring.
“But just as we saw during the pandemic, not everybody’s experience of it is positive.
“In a separate study with the University of Nottingham, we found that just under 59% of employees, many of whom work remotely for at least part of the week, are happy and with hybrid working now a permanent fixture for many, employers and employees may no longer be ‘making it up as they go along’ as they probably were at the start of the pandemic.
She added: “Hybrid working is still in its infancy and there are many questions about how it can work for both businesses and employees. Our index suggests it’s created new barriers for some people that didn’t exist when everyone was office-based, including wide regional variations.
“While employers don’t have control over house prices or broadband providers, by listening to their employees they can put ways of working in place that supports employees to get the best out of hybrid working.
“The right technology gives people the freedom to choose a location where they can work most effectively, whether it be at home, the office or a coffee shop, so they don’t get left behind. By facilitating hybrid working, technology that gives people instant access to the information they need, from anywhere, can also drive social mobility, giving people access to a wider job market in major cities without the high cost of living there.”
Methodology
To find out which areas of the UK are most and least excluded from hybrid working, we looked at nine key indicators to create the index score:
- Average salary by location (based on most recent available data from the ONS)
- Average hours worked by location (based on most recent available data from the ONS)
- Percentage of households with three or more occupants (based on data from the 2021 Census)
- As data was unavailable for Scotland, we used the average index score for these locations.
- Number of superfast broadband packages available (based on number of 30MB+ available from Compare The Market)
- Average monthly cost of superfast broadband packages available (based on data from Compare The Market)
- Unit cost of gas by location (based on these figures)
- Unit cost of electric by location (based on these figures)
- Average house price (based on data from Rightmove)
- Average temperature by location (based on data from Accuweather)
We gave each location an index score out of 100 (with 100 being the worst) for each separate data point with equal weighing, adding up each score over the nine data points to calculate an overall Inclusion Index Score out of 900.
