Hybrid work: Balancing employee needs and business realities

The legal and human cost of inflexible working arrangements

A stark example of the consequences of a workplace failing to accommodate ‘reasonable adjustments’ that the employee required by law is seen in the recent discrimination ruling against Peloton. As reported by People Management, an employment tribunal found that Peloton had failed to make reasonable adjustments for a neurodivergent employee. The employee, who was autistic, ADHD and had depression, was placed in a role that failed to meet his sensory needs and he was not provided with necessary changes to his working environment, including appropriate breaks or alternative tasks.

This underscores the key principle that flexibility is a matter of equity, not convenience. Reasonable adjustments – such as hybrid working or flexible hours – are not optional for inclusive organisations. They are essential.

1. Rewarding flexibility through bonuses

A powerful way to embed inclusive practices is by rewarding those who support them. Bonuses, often tied to sales or financial outcomes, can also be used to recognise inclusive leadership and practices across an organisation – such as:

• Supporting team members’ returning to work from maternity, illness, or caring leave
• Successfully integrating job-sharing or hybrid models
• Advocating for neurodiverse colleagues' working preferences

Organisations can use their performance management frameworks to assign bonus weighting based on behavioural KPIs, such as inclusion or flexibility leadership, alongside financial ones. By embedding key desired behaviours and shared values into the KPIs, organisations can make it clear that cultural contribution matters.

According to a CIPD report on performance management and flexible working, organisations that prioritise outputs rather than time at a desk see better engagement, stronger trust and improved productivity across hybrid teams.

2. Making flexibility strategic with a reward strategy

Flexibility shouldn't feel like an exception to the rule—it should be woven into your reward strategy. Today’s workers, particularly Gen Z and millennials, want more than pay. They are looking for:

• Autonomy
• Purpose
• Support for wellbeing and family life

At the recent Watercooler Conference, generational expert Eliza Filby shared that Gen Z is expected to have five careers and work for fifteen employers over the course of their lifetime. Their values are driving demand for multifaceted, meaningful careers and flexible working is key.

Meanwhile, according to the Guardian, there is a global drive towards ‘polyworking’. More than half of US millennials now work multiple jobs, or “polywork”, to meet their financial needs and fulfil personal interests. The survey revealed that nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of those workers have three jobs and a third (33 per cent) have four or more opportunities that bring them income outside of their full-time work.

Employers that offer flexible working models, paired with choice-driven reward packages, will be best placed to attract and retain this talent. Reward platforms let employees tailor their benefits. Whether that is buying extra holiday, redirecting funds to wellbeing, or choosing remote-working, the strategy is employee-led and values-driven. Contribute now to our UK Reward Management Survey that is canvassing the opinions and practices of HR-leaders in organisations across the UK when it comes to defining their benefits strategy.

3. Ensuring fairness through job evaluation and pay transparency

Flexibility only fosters inclusion when it is supported by a fair and objective framework that governs HR decisions. Without structured job evaluation and pay transparency, flexible workers risk ending up being penalised – especially women, caregivers and part-time staff.

This is particularly relevant in a hybrid working world. Employees out of sight must not be out of mind. A current example of organisational inconsistency is reports around the recruitment practices of Reform. Party leader Nigel Farage has condemned remote work, while the party advertised multiple home-based roles. As People Management reports, this mixed messaging confuses employees, undermines values and weakens employee trust.

In contrast, a transparent job evaluation framework that assesses roles, not workers, on objective criteria, regardless of location or hours worked means that organisations can ensure that employees know they are being treated equitably. Structured job evaluation tools and salary benchmarking ensures part-time and hybrid workers are assessed fairly for pay, progression and bonuses.

4. Monitor inclusion through data

Building an inclusive, flexible workplace is not a one-time achievement – it is an ongoing commitment that must be measured, evaluated and refined over time. That’s where employee data and feedback mechanisms become indispensable tools.

Running regular pulse surveys, stay interviews and exit interviews allows organisations to listen continuously to their people – capturing what is working, what is not and where gaps in experience or equity may lie. But gathering feedback is only part of the equation. To truly drive change, organisations should look to segment and analyse the data by:

• Working arrangement (e.g. remote, hybrid, on-site)
• Gender
• Ethnicity
• Neurodivergence and disability
• Parental status or caring responsibilities
• Job level or seniority

This kind of segmentation helps employers uncover whether specific groups are having a disproportionately negative experience – or facing barriers to progression, recognition or engagement. Equal pay audits can also help map out the demographics within an organisation and identify any drivers behind pay discrepancies that organisations can address.

For example, data might reveal that remote employees feel less visible during performance reviews, or that part-time staff experience slower promotion trajectories. By identifying patterns, leaders can implement targeted interventions – whether that’s improving manager training, adjusting feedback cycles or enhancing visibility for remote workers.

5. Train managers to lead inclusively

Flexible cultures live and die by line managers. They are the gatekeepers of daily experience and the interpreters of company values, especially when it comes to flexible and inclusive working. To support a culture that works for everyone, organisations must invest in comprehensive training that goes beyond policy.

This includes education on unconscious bias, neurodiversity awareness and how to manage distributed teams effectively. Crucially, managers need to be equipped to evaluate performance based on outcomes, not visibility, challenging the outdated expectation that productivity is linked to presenteeism or time spent at a desk.

Inclusive leadership is a skill that must be taught and nurtured. When managers are trained to understand the diverse needs of their team—whether those needs stem from neurodiversity, caregiving responsibilities or working remotely—they’re better positioned to offer the flexibility and empathy that today’s workforce expects. Proactive training can help avoid legal risk, increase retention and create a workplace where everyone has the chance to thrive.

Inclusion is a daily practice – not a policy

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to accommodating flexible working. The best organisations recognise this and take a human-centred, data-informed approach to building inclusive cultures that allow people to thrive and perform.

Flexibility is not about giving people what they want at the expense of the business. It is about listening to the requirements of employees as individuals, recognising the richness of human experience and building systems that adapt accordingly. Flexible working can become a lever not only for inclusion, but for resilience, engagement and long-term growth.

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Talk to us to define how your organisation can effectively implement these steps and build an inclusive culture that accommodates flexible arrangements, as well as business needs and capacity.