Hybrid work surprisingly sticky among SA’s middle to top-end earners

Hybrid working is surprisingly sticky among South Africa’s middle to top-end earners, according to a new survey. Employees were reluctant to go back to the office after lockdown ended although many employers wanted them to return full-time and hybrid working has become a compromise.

Working from home was a necessity in the lockdown stages of the pandemic era and it showed that knowledge workers could maintain productivity levels surrounded by their families, pets and creature comforts.

Since then, corporations made a concerted effort to get people back in the office, touting the benefits of in-person interactions, watercooler chats and consistent immersion in company culture. As a counterpoint, many employees advocated for hybrid solutions and workplace flexibility has become a leading factor in attracting and retaining talent, Brandon de Kock, BrandMapp’s director of storytelling says.

“Traditionally, work from home was mostly the preserve of people who are self-employed. There are, of course, jobs that are strictly bound to the workplace, such as healthcare practitioners, retail store managers and manufacturing and hospitality employees, but many knowledge workers and corporate managers can do a lot of their work just as well from home.”

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56% still worked from home in 2022

BrandMapp first measured the work from home trend in 2022 and found that a staggering 56% of employed adults were either still permanently working from home or going into the office part-time.

“A year later, there is barely any shift, with only 47% of employed adults back in their workplaces full-time, while 54% are either following the hybrid work trend or working permanently from home,” De Kock says. 

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Who are South Africa’s hybrid workers?

The 35 000 respondents in the recently released BrandMapp 2023 report represent the 13 million adults who live in homes with a household income of more than R10 000 per month, which is typically defined as ‘mid-market-and-up’ and comprises the country’s entire taxpaying base.

“When we take a closer look at who today’s hybrid workers are, we again see barely any change at all compared to 2022. Executive level employees are more likely to be hybrid workers and the only notable difference is that if you do not manage anyone, you are more likely to have heeded the latest call to return to the office.”

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Not all provinces are the same

De Kock says diverse industries power the economies of South Africa’s provinces and where there are greater concentrations of knowledge workers, it seems there are more opportunities for work from home and hybrid work. 

“Working all day from home is most common in Gauteng and the Western Cape, which along with the Free State also rank highest for hybrid work. In provinces such as Mpumalanga and Limpopo, where industries such as mining, agriculture and forestry dominate, workers are more likely to be back in their workplaces full-time.”

De Kock says given the strong call for workers to get back to the office, it is significant that BrandMapp 2023 has revealed barely any change in hybrid work in South Africa.

Why does it matter where we work? “It is possible that work environments have changed forever and this affects workday transit and traffic, shopping occasions, frequenting of restaurants and take-away outlets, as well as other lifestyle and social habits,” De Kock says.