Hybrid working embraced by 47% of Discovery Insure drivers

Hard lockdown may feel like a lifetime ago, but working from home (WFH) or hybrid work models aren’t going anywhere. Only more than half (53%) of people are back in the office full-time, with 14% only driving to the office once a week.

This is according to Discovery Insure data analysing the driving trends of 104,519 Vitality Drive programme members, which reveals that 23% of its clients who began working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic are still not back in office full time.

It confirms that despite some companies calling employees back to the office full time, a degree of workplace flexibility has become normalised.

“Traffic volumes have increased during the work week on certain days, but overall, are not where they were in 2019. If the current rate of change remains the same, we can still expect to see hybrid workplace models for some time.” says Robert Attwell, Discovery Insure CEO.

ALSO READ: Some are struggling to work from home – survey

According to the research Wednesdays are the busiest day in the office with 80% of employees driving to work. Friday is the least popular office day, and those who do go in, leave 20 minutes earlier than on the other days.

Attwell says that many people follow a hybrid model, which helps them avoid traffic and save on time and fuel. He recommends that people who work hybrid, and can choose which days they go into the office, make Friday an in-office day and leave home earlier on a Wednesday to avoid traffic.

“The data also shows that people who are back at the office full time drive the most on weekends,” says Atwell.

“This could be because they don’t have as much time during the week to run errands. People who have hybrid work arrangements likely have time to do short errand runs during breaks and after work.”

While globally some companies are challenging WFH models, with a preference for employees to be fully back in the office, it appears that for the meantime many South African companies are remaining hybrid.

Attwell ands that since the Covid-19 pandemic, Discovery quickly moved to a hybrid model.

“Thus far, the numbers show that hybrid arrangements are beneficial to both employees and employers. Insights from Discovery’s employee data show that in certain roles where the output is objectively measurable, workers in a hybrid model are more productive.

“When we take on a broader societal perspective, hybrid and WFH models have kept traffic volumes lower, which benefits all motorists.”

NOW READ: Bosses and juniors find it hardest to work from home