Hybrid working isn't a luxury - it's how many families cope.

Author: Ivana La Valle, Social Policy Researcher – Early Childhood and Family Policy Specialist

Working from home has become a political flashpoint. While it is now routine in many sectors – with 39% of the labour force working remotely at least some of the time (1) – some still view it as a perk enjoyed by a London centric professional elite.

Reform UK has even pledged to end home working altogether, arguing that Britain needs an attitudinal shift towards hard work rather than work–life balance (2).
Public debates like these tend to be polarised and often overlook what research actually shows.

Our evidence review of hybrid work, when time is split between home and the office, shows that it supports staff retention and does not negatively affect productivity, while the impact on wellbeing and family life is not well understood.

A new Nuffield Foundation funded study aims to fill this gap by exploring working parents’ experiences of hybrid work and how it affects them and their families (3).
Coordinated by the University of York, the research is building a detailed picture of how parents manage hybrid work alongside raising a family, and what this means for their wellbeing and parenting. Alongside new statistical evidence, we are gathering in depth accounts from 60 mothers and fathers across England – from different jobs, communities and family circumstances.

We began speaking to parents in autumn 2025 and have so far interviewed 15. We are extremely grateful to them for sharing their experiences. Their stories are already helping us shape the next stage of the research – and they challenge some of the most common myths about hybrid working.

Is hybrid working really a perk for a privileged elite?

Parents we spoke to were grateful for the chance to work from home some of the time – but “privileged elite” is not the phrase that comes to mind when you hear what they were juggling. Some relied on hybrid working because they couldn’t afford childcare every day, or because local childcare options were inadequate. For larger families, the morning and afternoon logistics of getting multiple children to school, nursery and activities resembled a “military operation”, only made possible by being able to work from home and flex working hours around children’s schedules.

While most parents were in jobs that could easily be done remotely, some worked in location dependent roles. For example, we spoke to two parents, a personal trainer and a safety manager for a scaffolding company, who had arranged to do all their admin on one day so they could work from home and look after the children when they came back from school.

Are employers losing the battle to bring workers back to the office?

Findings from our initial interviews seem to show that parents had adapted to required office days. Some enjoyed being in the workplace more often and understood why employers wanted people back. But resentment grew when return to office rules were rigid, with no room to negotiate arrangements that aligned with caring responsibilities. These and other tensions for parents will be explored further with families both in interviews and a survey we are also planning to do with parents.

One message came through clearly: while parents can adapt to a shift in the balance between home and office, none of those interviewed would take a job that didn’t allow at least some home working. This reflects the evidence we reviewed which shows a link between staff retention and hybrid work.

Mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of hybrid work

A key role of research is to highlight who benefits and who is disadvantaged by social and economic change. Even at this early stage, we are already seeing important differences between mothers’ and fathers’ experiences of hybrid work. Gender differences in experiences of remote working were also found in research carried out during the pandemic, although in very different circumstances as remote working was not a choice during lockdowns and strongly encouraged at other times.

Some parents in our interviews reported that they worked while children were at home – for example, when they came back from school, when they were sick or during school holidays. When this happened, mothers’ time and workspace at home were far less protected. They were more likely to “float” between rooms depending on who else was at home, while fathers tended to have fixed, protected spaces such as a study or converted garage. Mothers also said they were more interruptible. As some reported: “They [children] come in constantly” and “I can’t ignore them”. Fathers, by contrast, described clearer boundaries: “Children know not to disturb me when the door is shut”.

These differences shaped how hybrid working felt day to day. Fathers were more likely to report benefits such as spending more time with their children, feeling more productive at home and improved wellbeing. Mothers, meanwhile, were more likely to describe guilt – feeling they couldn’t give their children full attention or do their job properly – and the exhaustion of multitasking: “Never switching off” and “Doing two jobs at once”.

Making hybrid working fairer and more effective

While mothers were less likely to report benefits than fathers, overall hybrid working was hugely valued by all parents we spoke to. Going forward, our research will explore how these benefits could be more widely enjoyed. Our evidence will help to support constructive negotiations at work that balance employers’ needs with the realities of family life. For example, offering even limited remote working flexibility in location dependent jobs could become a competitive advantage for some employers and make a meaningful difference to parents in a wide range of roles. The study will also look at how policy and workplace support can help families share caring and domestic responsibilities more equally, so that hybrid work doesn’t become another way mothers in paid work are disadvantaged.

Find out more about the Hybrid work and childcare research programme here.

Sources/references:

[1] This figure includes 26% of working adults who work from home some of the time (hybrid working) and 13% who work from home all of the time. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld5901/ldselect/ldhomework/196/196.pdf

[2] https://workingfamilies.org.uk/news-events/news/an-open-letter-from-working-families/

[3] https://www.coramfamilyandchildcare.org.uk/research/effective-hybrid-work-and-childcare/