Who responded?
The survey was open for 10 weeks between the end of October 2021 and the start of January 2022.
We had 98 responses to the survey with 88% coming from collection focused organisations (museums, galleries, heritage sites, archives, libraries or multi artform organisations), 10% from organisations who support those organisations and the remaining 2% from performing arts organisations. Responses were from a mix of people in different roles with 52% in leadership/management positions, 25% in some form of engagement and 16% in exclusively digital roles.
The hybrid working reality now?
- Average percentage of time spent working at home is 69%. 50% think it will stay the same, 44% think they will be asked to go into work more often. Only 2% think they will go back to being in the workplace fulltime.
- Average ideal percentage of time working from home is 60%.
- Big range of responses to how remote working has changed the way people do their job with 27% little or no change. 44% some changes. 29% a lot or major changes.
Better or worse?
Overall 73% feel that changes to the way people do their jobs is positive, only 17% feel it is negative and the rest are neutral.
- Positive – Easier to meet with wider groups of people in multiple locations. Internally with other teams and departments but also externally. Opened the door to international collaborations and partnerships across the UK and wider networks and more collaborations. Ability to meet with people from multiple locations at once. Easier to reach out for a chat with new people. Less hierarchical, multidisciplinary.
- Negative – Access to site/building/collection is limited. No hands on time with the collection. Difficult to access for filming or photography. Lack of spontaneity with colleagues, collaborative process can take longer, brainstorming is difficult. Less meaningful contact with community partners and creatives. Harder to look after donors with a quick coffee to check in.
- Positive – Team communication is better with new ways to communicate that are more flexible and fluid. Meetings are quicker. One to one time is better, with more privacy. Time management is easier, less pressure, better home/work balance, less distraction. Much easier to focus at home, less travel and time spent travelling to and from work. Improved productivity overall. More time to research, opportunities for quality online training.
- Negative – Expectations that you have to always respond, longer hours and always on. Distraction at home and a challenge to stay motivated on your own. If you start a new job online it’s difficult to get to know the other team members. Lack of trust from management.
- Positive – Document sharing is better. Using digital comms with colleagues is better. Push to go paperless. Pushed people to embrace digital and online working. Driven forward changes in IT infrastructure. Now have laptop so can work remotely from home or anywhere. Greener.
- Negative – Little or no IT support. Some colleagues don’t like communicating digitally. Some resist digital change.
What’s different for teams?
Key concerns of impact of hybrid working on teams:
- 85% somewhat or extremely concerned about challenges around communication between team members.
- 80% somewhat or extremely concerned about equity of provision and opportunity across their teams
- 69% somewhat or extremely concerned about digital poverty and exclusion across teams, making inclusive practice more difficult.
- 68% somewhat or extremely concerned about lack of the right digital skills and literacies amongst team members
- 50% somewhat or extremely concerned about not having access to the right digital tools to help them do their job.
Plus also mention of:
- Volunteers not returning, don’t want to work remotely and miss social interaction.
- Over-reliance on Zoom meetings, not always the best way to communicate.
- Lack of archival system for digital records.
- Issues with file sharing and storage.
- Concerns about keeping everyone involved.
- Divides between on site staff and leadership who can work from home more easily.
- Divide between older and younger team members and levels of digital confidence.
- Fragmentation of working patterns from family life.
- Reliance on personal equipment at home to do a job.
- Not everyone has a dedicated work area at home due to shared living.
- Health and safety of work environment at home without proper chairs or desks.
- Lack of opportunities for social interactions – social isolation.
- Reluctance to change, trying to do things as before but just online without adapting practice.
- Burnout, ability to switch off at home.
What’s different for organisations?
Key concerns of impact of hybrid working on organisations ability to fulfil mission:
- 92% somewhat or extremely concerned about equity of provision and opportunity for communities and audiences
- 92% somewhat or extremely concerned about digital poverty and exclusion amongst communities and audiences (making inclusive practice more difficult)
- 90% somewhat or extremely concerned about accessibility of digital provision for communities and audiences
- 78% somewhat or extremely concerned about challenges of designing hybrid programmes of work that mix physical and digital
Plus also mention of:
- How to offer conferences, events and training in a hybrid format
- Digital expectation to deliver a hybrid/blended approach.
- Focus on digital just for marketing.
- Loss of audiences who only want face to face
- Employer responsibility for the wellbeing of staff.
- Not learning from the pandemic and trying to go back to how things were before.
- Lack of digitisation of collection and assets.
- Loss of connection with communities, schools etc
What are the opportunities?
Opportunities hybrid working brings to your organisation and its ability to successfully fulfil its mission?
- 100% somewhat or extremely positive that hybrid working improves opportunities to work with people from further afield
- 98% somewhat or extremely positive that hybrid working improves increases digital skills, literacies and confidence within your organisation
- 96% somewhat or extremely positive that hybrid working improves access to online training and networking
- 85% somewhat or extremely positive that hybrid working improves efficient communication between team members
- 84% somewhat or extremely positive that hybrid working improves diversification of audiences
Plus also mention of:
- Positive impact on wellbeing of staff due to more flexible working patterns
- Improved work life balance
- Environmental sustainability
- Less travel
- International engagement
- Growth in creativity
- Opportunities to develop new services online
- Job opportunities across the country – diversity in recruitment.
- Enabling people with disabilities and/or caring responsibilities flexibility to work more equitably.
- Being able to manage and research collections remotely is a real advantage.
- Online volunteering.
- Ability to attend international conferences online
Closer look at income generation
Only 15% felt extremely positive about the opportunities to support income generation opportunities. 52% somewhat positive and 33% are not positive at all.
100% of all those in leadership positions and 80% of those in digital roles who completed the survey were either not positive at all about income generation or somewhat positive. Within the answers you can see people from the same organisation, but in different roles, responding with different answers and perspectives.