There has been a significant drop-off in remote and hybrid working in the public sector, according to data from software company Unit4.
According to its latest State of the Digital Nation report for the public sector, only 15% of public sector employers in the UK are operating a fully remote working model, down from 37% in 2023.
Almost half (49%) operate some form of hybrid model, a dramatic drop from 93% in 2023, the company found.
However, almost a quarter (24%) say they struggle to recruit due to rising return-to-office mandates. This figure is not exclusive to the UK, as globally the figure is the same and is even higher in Sweden, at 27%.
Remote working
Globally, 16% of public sector organisations currently operate a fully remote working model, compared with 33% in 2023. Just over half (51%) are fully office based, by comparison.
The Netherlands has the highest number of organisations (63%) who are fully office-based, according to Unit4, while 66% of Canadian public sector employers have a remote or hybrid model.
Return to office demands among civil servants in the UK have proven controversial. A survey by the FDA union found that 78% did not find a three-day-a-week office attendance mandate to be beneficial.
Demands on office attendance are also impacting private sector employers.
A survey published by the British Chambers of Commerce earlier this month found that one in 10 small and medium-sized companies have lost staff over return-to-office demands.
Mark Gibbison, AVP Global Public Sector and Higher Education at Unit4, said that workers’ preferences for remote and hybrid working must not be ignored.
“If the public sector wants to attract the best candidates it must be willing to adapt or find alternative solutions, such as increasing automation and use of AI to support the existing workforce to do their jobs,” he said.
“The people aspect of digital transformation should never be under-estimated, so public sector decision-makers ought to think carefully before they go too far back down the path of mandating office-based work.”
Although some UK respondents struggle to hire due to return-to-office mandates, they have less of an issue hiring staff without the right skills. Only 15% said this was an issue in 2025, compared to 27% in 2023.
They also have more chance of finding the right candidates in 2025, with only 11% reporting difficulties finding the right recruits.
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