Some three in five employers have not yet made their strategy on working from home clear to staff in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey by I&O Research.

At the same time almost three quarters of employees want to work both from home and at the office, the survey showed.

Officially, the advice is to ‘work from home if you can, and go to the office if you must’, but many companies are now welcoming staff back on location regardless. Rush hour traffic is also increasing – another sign that the old working patterns are returning.

The survey was commissioned by Anders Reizen, an umbrella group which aims to reduce carbon dioxide emissions caused by business travel and which is supported by some of the Netherlands biggest companies, including ABN Amro, Philips, Unilever, Leaseplan and Shell.

A clear majority of workers – 74% – want to keep the hybrid form of working which developed during the pandemic, saying shorter travel times and flexible working hours are the main advantages. Just 10% of people currently working at home say they would like to stop doing so.

Hybrid forms of working pose ‘tough dilemmas’ for employers, the coalition said. In particular it involves a change in company structure – from hierarchy and control to one of trust, freedom and individual responsibility.

Employers should not be calling everyone back to the office, director Hugo Houppermans said. ‘We now have the opportunity to redefine work and travel,’ he said. ‘Companies going back to the old ways will lose talent.’