Hybrid roles rise by a third in first quarter of 2022, finds GlobalData

The number of ‘hybrid working’ positions, where employees split their time between a workplace and working from home, is on the rise, according to GlobalData.

The data and analytics company notes that job postings featuring the key word ‘hybrid working’ increased by 31% in Q1 2022, compared to Q4 2021, while ‘remote working’ and ‘work from home’ options are waning.

This finding is part of research for GlobalData’s latest report, ‘Global Hiring Activity – Trends & Signals Q2 2022’, for which GlobalData reviewed job postings for around 4,400 companies for key words related to ‘hybrid working’. The research identified that ‘remote’ jobs, declined by 11% and ‘work from home’ positions declined by 13%.

Comments Sherla Sriprada, Business Fundamentals Analyst at GlobalData: 

“As pandemic restrictions ease, the hybrid work model seems to be trending while ‘remote’ and ‘work from home’ options are waning. Hybrid work is becoming the new norm in the post-pandemic world. Flexible work arrangements are increasingly important to an organization’s efforts for retaining and recruiting employees.”

Adds Gary Barton, Technology Analyst at GlobalData:

“The nature of ‘work’ has fundamentally changed over the last few years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and increased adoption of cloud services. It will continue to evolve as younger generations enter the workplace and employee expectations change.

“GlobalData’s research from December 2021 indicates that only 30% of employees want to return to full-time, in-office employment, versus 48% who want a hybrid working model and 22% who want to work from home permanently.

“As job vacancies begin to exceed availability, and the ‘war for talent’ intensifies, it may not be easy or advisable for businesses to mandate where and how employees work.”

According to GlobalData’s Company Filings Analytics database, key firms that mentioned moving to a permanent remote working strategy in their company filings include Wendel, Plantronics, and Guidewire Software. Meanwhile, when it comes to recruitment activity, Microsoft, JPMorgan Chase, and CDM Smith were among the key recruiters posting hybrid work roles in Q2 2022, according to GlobalData’s Job Analytics database.

However, job posts for remote work opportunities dropped by 11% in the technology sector year-on-year, and 18% in the healthcare sector.

Sriprada continues: “Although many companies are looking to hire within a ‘work from anywhere’ model, the majority of businesses—including tech giant Apple—have instead recommended staff to start utilizing a hybrid work approach.”

Hybrid work job postings rose by 53% in the technology industry year-on-year, with companies such as Microsoft, Alphabet, HP, Charter Communications, and Intel posting jobs that noted the role would be a hybrid position.

Meanwhile, hybrid roles increased by 15% in the banking and payments sector, with American Express, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, BNP Paribas Personal Finance, and Credit Suisse posting roles that stated a hybrid working environment with flexible working hours.

Firms such as Vodafone Group, Shopify, Verizon Communications, and Science Applications International are offering permanent ‘work from home’ roles, while Qurate Retail, ChargePoint Holdings, and Corvel Corp noted in their company filings that they intend move to a permanent ‘work from home’ strategy.