We're delighted to launch our interim report of some of our survey and interview findings on disabled workers’ experiences of remote and hybrid working - supported by @nuffieldfoundation.org.

lancaster.ac.uk/work-foundat...

Read all about the findings below ⬇️

A great 🧵here from @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social on the need for more actual evidence and research across the back-to-office debate, rather than the "gut feelings" of individuals 👇

Important New Year reading here, with this final report of a project exploring regional differences in the disability employment gap. Results show strong correlation between the size of the DEG and levels of economic deprivation across an area: well worth a deep dive into the data (see👇for more).

Had a great time on Friday filming for the first stage of production on our @irhws.bsky.social film 📽️ The idea is to give disabled workers a chance to talk about their remote & hybrid working experiences in their own words. Watch this space for the final product in the spring!

This speaks to today's report from the Work Foundation exploring the linkages between job quality and ill health (link below), as well as our findings for the @irhws.bsky.social project about the need for inclusive flexible working models to retain people with disabilities/ill health in employment.

Great to see this report published today by my project colleagues at the Work Foundation on the need to improve job quality to more effectively tackle economic inactivity across the UK. Access to flexible working models and concerted employer support at the onset of ill health considered crucial 👀

A brilliant exploration here from my colleague @asliatay.bsky.social on the inequalities concerning who has access to flexible working models in 2024, and the need for bolder action in expanding the right to flexibility to millions more workers across the UK: well worth a read.

Some fascinating findings emerging from @benbgeiger.bsky.social & team's FlexPlus project (details of study below), particularly around the need for employers and job design considerations to be a key part of exploring how to help people with disabilities thrive in the workplace: well worth a read 👀

Reflecting on a fascinating time as part of the Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study over the past two years, as we approach the project's conclusion: 1,300 survey participants and 90 individual interviews later, really excited to be at the writing-up stage now. Final report in the spring!

Interesting findings here from a hybrid working case study, with rises in retention & job satisfaction rates among other positive metrics: and, crucially, a productivity rise that went counter to an expected drop. Highlights the mindset challenge for employers in accepting flexible working models.

Thank you to @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social for highlighting our findings on how to make remote and hybrid working models more inclusive at the international level today, presenting at a webinar for Dutch Accessibility Week: great to be collaborating and engaging across borders for this project!

The Inclusive Remote and Hybrid Working Study goes international today for Dutch Accessibility Week, with @rebeccaflorisson.bsky.social presenting (in fluent Dutch!) our preliminary findings at a webinar in collaboration with researchers at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences 🌍

Good to see Microsoft not following Amazon's lead on demanding a full return to the office, and highlighting a thoughtful approach to flexible working: for context, the company have had a hybrid working model in place since 2022, and has increased its revenue by 15% year-over-year since then.

As part of our project exploring how to make remote and hybrid work more inclusive for those with disabilities and long-term health conditions, we are keen to interview employers about their own experiences in working in these ways: if you would like your voice heard, do please get in touch!

An interesting read about the short-termist nature of back-to-office mandates:

"Businesses need to thoroughly self-assess and listen to their employees prior to making any organizational changes. A culture issue is not solved by making people vacate their home desk for an assigned cubicle seat."

It may not be what some employers want to hear, but making time working in the office more voluntarily attractive to workers (rather than relying on mandates) is an increasingly important part of employee engagement strategies: even more so for workers with disabilities and/or health conditions.

Hard not to see predictions like this as anything other than increasingly out of touch with the labour market in 2024: access to flexible working models is an important recruitment and retention tool for those employers who have embraced it, and reversing these new ways of working is unrealistic.

While the headlines are currently dominated by large employers demanding a return to a five-day office week, we are keen to speak to organisations who have continued with remote and/or hybrid working to better understand their experiences: do please get in touch if you'd like your voice heard!

Disappointing to see the absence in this article of any arguments highlighting the benefits that disabled workers and those with a health condition can derive from remote/hybrid working: our conversations with employers have shown benefits for them, too (inc. sickness rates/productivity/retention).