Five years on from Covid: Businesses and employees finally reaching an office return consensus

- 51% of workers believe attracting new staff will be difficult without remote options, down from 68% last year.
- The percentage of people who are looking for a new role to find more flexible arrangements fell to 23% in 2025 from 29% last year.



As the UK marks five years since the Covid pandemic, new data from Robert Half suggests businesses and workers may have finally come to a compromise on the return to office debate, with fewer people indicating that remote working will influence their decision to move jobs.



In the latest iteration of its Jobs Confidence Index (JCI) – an economic confidence tracker produced in partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) – Robert Half reported a fall in the number of professionals who believe that a lack of remote working options will have a negative impact on an organisation’s ability to recruit new staff (down 17-percentage points year-on-year), meaning workers seem to be accepting the return to the office.



The number of people seeking a new role in order to access flexible working arrangements has also fallen to below a quarter (23%), marking a decline of six percentage points year-on-year, suggesting that employees are happier with the current combination of office and remote set ups. This is in keeping with recent reports from the Centre for Cities which revealed that workers in London now spend more than half (2.7 days) of the working week in the office, up from 2.2 days in 2023.



Matt Weston, Senior Managing Director UK & Ireland, at Robert Half commented:



“The last five years have seen a step change in how and where people work, but the big focus recently has been on the return to the office, with workers and businesses at odds for some time over what a good balance looks like. In fact, in Q3 last year our Salary Guide revealed that more than two thirds of employers would base promotions on physical presence in the office in a bid to encourage returns. Now, though, it seems as if we have finally reached a turning point, with the number of workers who believe that a lack of remote working will impact staff attraction and retention now falling.



“Facetime with peers is hugely valuable and the sense of connectivity and collaboration that you get by being together in person is hard to replicate in a virtual setting. The development opportunities from face-to-face conversations are also invaluable, something that our research suggests both employees and employers acknowledge. However, it’s important to be mindful of the fact that being in the office doesn’t mean that flexibility is completely eliminated. Employee flexibility is an important factor in enhancing productivity, retention, and overall job satisfaction. And with firms facing skills shortages and a stubbornly tight labour market, adopting these practices can result in a more engaged and satisfied workforce, as well as greater organisational success.”



Ends

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About the research



The Jobs Confidence Index

In partnership with the Centre for Economics and Business Research, the quarterly Robert Half Jobs Confidence Index is the most authoritative report on the key socio-economic factors influencing confidence in the UK labour market.



The Jobs Confidence Index (JCI) is made up of four equally weighted pillars, each measuring a factor which contributes to jobs confidence. These are:

1.Job security confidence

2.Pay confidence

3.Job search and progression confidence

4.Macroeconomic confidence

The JCI takes a positive or negative number, where numbers above zero signal that jobs confidence is higher than the long-term average, and numbers below zero show it is lower. The JCI can take any number, but it usually stands between -30 and 30, showing that confidence is close to a normal level when it is within this range.



2025 UK Salary Guide



The Robert Half 2025 UK Salary Guide provides information on starting salaries, hiring trends, popular jobs, and other market insights. Non-salary data referenced in the Salary Guide is based on an online survey developed by Robert Half and conducted by an independent research firm. During June and July 2024 Robert Half commissioned research amongst 1,500 respondents using an online data collection methodology. The respondents represent 500 hiring managers and 1,000 workers in finance and accounting, IT and technology, administrative and office support, marketing and creative, and the financial services industry. Respondents are drawn from a sample of SMEs to large private, publicly listed and public sector organisations across the UK.



About Robert Half

Robert Half (NYSE: RHI) is the world’s first and largest specialised talent solutions and business consulting firm, connecting highly skilled job seekers with rewarding opportunities at great companies. We offer contract talent and permanent placement solutions in the fields of finance and accounting, technology, marketing and creative, legal, and administrative and customer support, and we also provide executive search services. Robert Half is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm that delivers internal audit, risk, business and technology consulting solutions. In the past 12 months, Robert Half, including Protiviti, has been named one of the Fortune® Most Admired Companies™ and 100 Best Companies to Work For and a Forbes Best Employer for Diversity. Explore talent solutions, research and insights atwww.roberthalf.com/gb/en.