The most popular weekly working pattern among adland employees is two days in the office with three remote, according to the latest analysis of the Advertising Association’s All In Census. 

A third (34%) of respondents to the study said two days in the office would be their preferred balance, followed by three days (favoured by 23%), one day (22%), none at all (10%) and then four days (8%). Five days was the least popular option (3%).

This is at odds with wider trends across the industry, as Publicis Groupe has moved to bring all employees back to the office for three days a week and Adam & Eve/DDB opted for four under its “Four&Flex” policy.

All In steering group chair Kathryn Jacob said the analysis shows adland’s view on hybrid working is still too narrow and does not account for differences in how remote working policies affect different groups and demographics.

In the report she said: “We need to move away from a limited view of flexibility which focuses purely on where we work.

“Instead, we should be looking to incorporate other elements of flexibility that encourage people back into the office whilst supporting a work/life balance that enables each of us to thrive.” 

Although the report showed more time in the office was likely to improve culture and connection between colleagues, time in the office alone would not be enough to foster this culture.

Belonging

Nearly two thirds (64%) of fully remote employees who responded to the study said they felt they belonged at their company, 12 percentage points fewer than those who go into the office every day (76%).

However, this falls for ethnic minority employees: 65% of all minority ethnic employees said they feel they belong at their company compared with 73% of white colleagues.

This proportion fell to 59% for black employees, whose feelings of belonging also peaked at three days in-office per week (69%).

The report stated: “The All In findings suggest the most likely explanation is that employees from an ethnic minority are more likely to encounter negative workplace experiences than white employees and are therefore less likely to want to spend time in the office.”

This is supported by the finding that almost one in 10 (9%) people from an ethnic minority had personally experienced racial discrimination at their current company, and 35% believed that their ethnicity was a hindrance to career progression.

Impact on progression

Overall, those who spent five days in the office were the most likely (66%) to say they felt supported to develop their skills and progress their career.

However, the right balance also varied depending on the stage people were at in their career.

At an executive level, those who spent three days in the office (72%) were the most likely to say they felt supported to develop their skills and progress their career.

Among junior respondents, three days also made the majority (75%) more likely to feel emotionally and socially supported at work.

Lack of work/life balance leading to more leavers

Respondents were more likely to say a “lack of work/life balance” was the reason for leaving their employer when they spent more days per week in the office.

For comparison, 21% of fully remote workers listed lack of work/life balance as their reason for leaving; this rose to 34% among those who worked in-office five days a week.

Lack of work/life balance was more pronounced among disabled employees, and 34% of disabled leavers said they were planning to depart because of it.

Of all the groups asked, they also had the widest disparity between the number of days they actually worked in the office and their personal preference.

Despite widespread opinion that hybrid working has been “settled already” Jacob said, the industry is still in the early stages of truly understanding the true impact of remote work.

She added: “How we respond as an industry is critical. I’m not sure we’ve quite got it right yet, but our ability to attract and retain the very best talent dictates that we must.”

The report, Hybrid Working in the Advertising Industry, is based on All In’s March 2023 census of 19,000 advertising and marketing professionals, and looked at how the shift to hybrid working is affecting employees’ feelings of belonging, their progression and work/life balance.

Context

Campaign’s Faces to Watch revealed that hybrid working was “very important” to 69% of rising talent, with the largest proportion of entrants (53%) saying they would like to work three out of five days at the office.

Last year’s School Reports found the average number of days staff came into the office in 2022 was 2.6 days. 

This article originally appeared on Campaign US.