Covid career starters - what does the hybrid generation want?

In March it will be five years since the pandemic, when much of the world stopped and the world of work changed forever. Not for everyone, of course - there are some jobs that are still done in exactly the same way, and many roles in sectors like the built environment, food, retail or healthcare that remain predominantly in person.

But for many people, work moved from being something done in an office, involving gossip round the water cooler and canteen lunches, to Zoom calls, a short commute from bed to desk, and a declining separation between work and home life. ONS data shows that as of 2023, 44% of people were working in a hybrid model, either fully or partially from home – up from just one in eight (12%) before Covid-19. [CF1]?

Five years on and the debate as to whether remote working works – for business and individuals – is ongoing. Personally, I think a hybrid model can bring enormous benefits to both, but the key is creating a human centric culture in which the needs of employees are balanced with the needs of the business. Many organizations are still struggling with this tension. Meanwhile innovative, forward-thinking organizations are taking their social responsibility (as part of ESG) seriously, striving to create workplaces where employees can flourish.

But lost in the ‘to hybrid or not’ debate, is the fact that for a growing proportion of our workforce, there is no “before Covid”. For those who started work in late 2019, or indeed amidst the lockdowns, the notion of essentially the entire population physically going to work is like telephones connected to the wall or a workplace without computers. Young people may know these things existed, but they have no direct experience of them.

At BSI, we think it’s time we start exploring what that means. For the group we are dubbing the “hybrid generation”, how has this shift shaped their attitudes to work, and what they expect or want from employers? Are they craving more in-person management; do they feel that they have greater or lesser career development. For those who still don’t have the ability to work from home, does this make their sector more or less appealing, or do they want flexibility in other forms to compensate? Have those previously excluded from work (such as those with a disability or chronic health condition) now been able to contribute to the economic prosperity of their country? There are so many questions, and I think it’s high time we start asking them.

After all, some of this cohort will have been working for five years; they may themselves be line managers or in charge of mentoring a new recruit. They are climbing the ladder and shaping career pathways and workplaces as they go. And at the same time, figures suggest not all are doing so; recent numbers revealing that the number of women aged 16-24 who are long-term sick has more than doubled from 52,000 to 117,600 over a decade, with men in this cohort also almost twice as likely to be off sick. The mental and physical impacts of Covid and a less human centric world, are becoming evident, and organizations can benefit from acknowledging this.

In recent years BSI has explored the future of work and workplace well-being through the experiences of those at later stages of their working lives, examining the Second Glass Ceiling – the phenomenon by which women are leaving the workplace early and not out of choice – and the age-diverse workforce, in which many are working into their 70s and beyond. This year, we are aiming to expand our focus to those at the start of their careers as well.

Over the next few months, BSI will be examining the “hybrid generation”, looking at what the data says and what individuals are thinking. We want to hear from as many people as possible as part of this, so we are opening a global call for evidence for young workers, business leaders and others to respond to.

The reality is, there is no going back. Some companies may mandate five days in, and that may be right for them and their people, but today’s workplace is fundamentally different to that of the past, with AI further reshaping how things are done. The most important thing is not to debate whether that’s a good thing, but instead how we can make a success of it. How can we create a human centric future of work that takes the best parts of hybrid or flexible arrangements and still meets the needs of employees and employees alike? How can we alight on a structure that empowers individuals to flourish and organisations to grow? In 2025, I’m excited to find out.