As the debate intensifies over whether workers should return to the office or  operate from home for at least some of the time, a new report from the University of Suffolk has looked at the impact of hybrid working on business management.

And it has found that many feel the change has had a positive effect on their professional and personal lives.

It found that nearly six in 10 managers (58%) reported that they felt they belonged more to their team compared to others in equivalent managerial roles, while a further 32% reported no change.

The study reported that agile working made managers intentionally improve their communication with staff, as well as improve their work-life balance and help colleagues accept that managers are “only human too”.

Dr Laura Reeves of the University of Suffolk.Dr Laura Reeves of the University of Suffolk. (Image: University of Suffolk)

It was prepared by Dr Laura Reeves from the University of Suffolk who was working with Prof Clare Rigg, of the University of Lancaster.

Dr Reeves' report says: “With agile working placing managers further away from their employees, it would be easy to assume that levels of communication or belonging would decrease, but this study has actually found the opposite, as managers have worked hard to ensure they remain connected."

However one area where hybrid working or remote working generally was a challenge was in bringing new staff into an organisation.

The report says: “It is clear that embedding new starters into an organisation’s culture still presents a challenge."

But she said it was only one factor to be considered by employers - and weighed against the benefits that staff and companies had found from hybrid working.

The government has recently said workers and employers should decide for themselves what is the best way to work - and many public sector office workers now work from home or have hybrid arrangements where they only go into the office two or three days a week.

However, tech giant Amazon has recently announced that its office staff are all going to have to return to the workplace in a bid to ensure teamwork is encouraged.

Dr Reeves said employers and workers would continue to need more knowledge as the effects of the pandemic lockdowns continued to ripple through the world of work.

“As agile and hybrid working remains so prevalent beyond the pandemic, and some firms weigh-up whether to return staff to pre-pandemic arrangements, it is clear this area of research will continue to be an important avenue of study.”