People like working from home. And Managers are starting to agree.

The various covid lockdowns?were a shock to the way people work. The trend of hybrid work (where people work both at home and in an office) has been growing for two decades. Technology allowed people to use a laptop or smartphone to do administrative tasks - from anywhere.

Covid sped up the work-from-home trend at the speed of a jetliner. Overnight, companies worldwide were forced to make their people work from home. It was the most significant disruption to work-life since the industrial revolution.

For many employees, the idea of working from home - some or all of the time - has been very well received. Adjusting to an entirely new work pattern was not easy for everyone— especially those living in smaller houses or with children to home-school. But the preference to work from home - or partially work from home - seems to be very high.

Lockdowns are over yet offices still empty

When South Africa started unlocking the country and reduced restrictions, people's behaviour suggests that their preference remained to work away from the office. How else can you explain why restaurants and gyms are busily trading - yet offices (where the Covid threat is lower) are only a third full? If you look at the empty offices in downtown Cape Town and Sandton CBD, there is a reason. People are more comfortable in a crowded shopping centre than in a spacious office.

Many business managers are not as excited about remote working as their employees. According to a survey by three economists, José Barrero, Nick Bloom and Steven Davis, businesses in the USA expect around a quarter of all work hours to be done from home in a post-covid world—about half what workers want. There is a gap between what people like, and what business managers believe that they need.

Many believe that people are more productive at home for various reasons. There is some evidence that suggests that working from home full-time can actually make some people less efficient. It may differ from position to position but the jury is still out as to how home working will impact productivity.

Yet there seems to be growing agreement on the benefits of a "hybrid" approach where people spend some time in an office and other times working from home. The solution for many managers is that a mixture of home and office can be the best arrangement for productivity. It enables a more efficient division of labour between "deep work" (the sort requiring lots of concentration, which employees can do at home) and collaborative work (best done in person). Setting aside some afternoons for in-person drinks or get-togethers may build the company culture more than sitting at a desk or meeting around the photostat machine.

Businesses are increasingly being forced to offer hybrid working as an incentive. At Inospace, we lost a perfect candidate for a senior position because we insisted that she spend most of her time at the office. She insisted on working from home. We have already learnt that in the fight to retain talent, companies will have to be flexible about people's desire for hybrid working.

The shift to hybrid work already has had a material management effect. Managers require different skills to manage people remotely and many find it challenging to judge productivity in their employee's lounges and bedrooms.

It's far easier to manage people from 9 to 5

Yet, there are already signs that the move to hybrid working is paying off. Surveys by Gallup, a pollster, find that employee "engagement" in America, a rough measure of how committed people are to their jobs, is near an all-time high. In part, this reflects a sense of solidarity with colleagues and managers. But it also reflects a genuine improvement in working conditions.

Many companies realise that the savings are enormous in reducing office space. Rent and operating costs are lower, but specific roles such as tea ladies, cleaners, and receptionists are not needed. While this does not boost employment levels, businesses realise that hybrid working can be much cheaper and efficient.

Managers have broadly accepted the inevitability of the hybrid work model. Their biggest concern is about preserving company culture. Many people didn't think a hybrid model could work, but during the first few months of the pandemic, many were proven wrong.

The new hybrid work landscape remains unsettled as the workplace evolves and companies learn to manage people remotely. But the days of the 9 to 5, Monday to Friday work week, are gone. And they are not coming back.