Hybrid Working: The 2026 Standard

Hybrid working is the settled pattern for UK tech roles. What candidates expect now, and how to set a policy that helps you hire.

By Mandy Chow, Senior IT Recruitment Partner · Updated 30 July 2026

Woman working on a laptop at a kitchen table at home

Key points

28% of working adults in Great Britain hybrid work, and IT workers are the most likely to.
51% of UK organisations set a minimum number of office days, most often three.
State the working pattern in days per week in the advert and the first conversation.

Hybrid working is no longer a temporary fix. It is the settled pattern for most UK office-based roles, and technology is where it is most firmly established.

The latest ONS figures show that 28% of working adults in Great Britain hybrid worked in early 2025, and people in IT and professional, scientific and technical industries were the most likely to do so. Employers have mostly settled on a structured version of it. The CIPD found that 51% of UK organisations now require a minimum number of office days each week, most commonly three, while 53% of employees feel pressure to spend more time in the workplace. Getting the balance wrong has a cost: around 1.1 million people changed jobs in the year to mid-2025 because of a lack of flexibility.

The most common pattern we see in tech roles is two or three office days a week, often built around one or two mid-week collaboration days. Fully remote roles remain common in software, data and project delivery, where most of the work can be done well online.

What this means for hiring

Flexibility is now part of the offer, not an extra. In our conversations with candidates it often ranks alongside pay, and sometimes above it, when they compare offers. Employers with a clear, genuine hybrid policy see bigger talent pools and fewer late withdrawals. Those that are vague about office days, or change the policy after an offer, tend to lose people at the final stage.

Three practical points for employers:

State the working pattern in the advert and in the first conversation, in days per week.
Make office days worthwhile: collaboration, training and time with the team, not work that could be done at home.
Be consistent. A policy that applies to some teams and not others is hard to explain at interview.

If you are weighing up how flexible a role needs to be to attract the right people, talk to us. We can tell you what candidates in that specialism expect right now.

Sources: ONS, Who has access to hybrid work in Great Britain?, June 2025; CIPD, Flexible and hybrid working practices in 2025.