“Hybrid working is something that women, in particular mothers, have been desperate for, for years.”



Mumsnet CEO and founder Justine Roberts said this flexibility is exactly what mothers have been calling for, saying, “I think we need to acknowledge that flexible working, hybrid working is something that women, in particular mothers, have been desperate for, for years.”

Procurement Heads‘ Operations Director Hayley Packham shares her thoughts.

The pandemic has certainly expedited this but I am still finding that some organisations are reluctant to adopt it citing that being in the office is paramount and all roles must be full-time and couldn’t possibly be performed on a part-time basis.

I worked a four-day week for four years and was more productive and more efficient than some of my counterparts who worked across five days.

Now I work a five-day week with two of those at home, which affords me the flexibility to see my son more, as well as collaborate with my colleagues, peers and customers face-to-face.

If you are measured on outputs and allow people the freedom to be mature enough to know when they need to be in for business-related reasons and when they can work at home, this will make organisations far more attractive to potential candidates.

What is the point in someone coming to the office five days a week to have Teams calls with people?

Come to the office to collaborate, work on key projects and strategies and build relationships.

Make it work for the business AND the individual and people will want to work for you.

If women are going to be encouraged to adopt more senior roles, organisations have to make it easier to facilitate the pathway for them.


The CIPD’s Embedding new ways of working post-pandemic report shows that 40% of employers said they expect more than half their workforce to work regularly from home after the pandemic has ended.

Office of National Statistics’ data highlights that prior to the pandemic, only around 5% of the workforce worked mainly from home.

Covid, and government mandates for people to stay at home, increased this significantly.

However, according to CIPD research, pre-pandemic, 65% of employers either did not offer regular working from home at all or offered it to 10% or fewer of their workforce.

After the crisis, that 65% is expected to fall dramatically to 37%, which represents a considerable shift in ways of working.

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