During (and after) the pandemic, it felt like the nation’s approach to flexible work shifted in a positive direction.

A large number of employees were given more freedom to work from home, benefiting a wide range of people – from those with chronic illnesses, mental health conditions and disabilities, to those with caring responsibilities.

But a new report reveals a trend that will concern a large number of people who are currently benefitting from this: flexible working appears to be silently being reversed.

A new Flex Appeal report, in conjunction with market research company Vivid Interface, polled 2,959 working mothers in January and found 35% reported increased office attendance expectations in the last year.

Campaigners are warning the move – dubbed the “silent re:flex” – could force even more mothers out of the workplace. (We say even more because Pregnant Then Screwed data suggests up to 74,000 women lose their job for getting pregnant or taking maternity leave each year, and ONS data previously found 84% of the 1.75 million people who’ve given up work to care for their family are women.)

Perhaps it should come as no surprise. KPMG’s 2024 CEO Outlook report revealed 83% of CEOs expected a full return to the office within three years. Return-to-office mandates are also on the rise – yet they are increasingly met with resistance, particularly from parents.

Flexible work encompasses when, where and how a person works – and includes options like compressed hours, part-time work or flexitime, as well as options for remote working.

There are some who oppose the latter element in particular and are extremely vocal about it. Reform leader Nigel Farage said he believes we need an “attitudinal change to the idea of working from home” and “it’s a load of nonsense” that people are more productive at home.

The Apprentice star Lord Alan Sugar has also shared his support to get workers’ “bums back into the office”. Last year, the former boss of Marks & Spencer and Asda, Lord Stuart Rose, even went as far as suggesting working from home was “not doing proper work”.

A King’s College London analysis of the long-term impacts of flexible work arrangements through a case study company found productivity increased by 10.5% after transitioning to fully remote work during the pandemic.

Yet there was one caveat: employees who began with in-person training before switching to remote work showed higher long-term productivity and lower attrition rates than those who started remotely (suggesting initial in-person onboarding can be beneficial).

Research by Flex Appeal, founded by Anna Whitehouse (aka Mother Pukka), found almost half of mums (42%) want more flexibility than they currently have, and nine out of 10 (93%) need it due to childcare responsibilities.

There are other benefits to being able to work from home, too. Those who have flexible working in place say it reduces exhaustion from commuting, gives them more energy outside of work and lowers stress levels. Another important consideration during a time of rising maternal burnout.

Discussing the prevailing anti-flexible work rhetoric, Whitehouse said: “I am sick and tired of hearing privileged billionaires bleating about how important it is that we get people back to the office – as if the party is finally over and we need to pull our socks up and get back to work.

“Mothers’ flexible working rights are being rolled back silently in plain sight with more and more employers calling for increased office time, meanwhile mums are still not finding jobs that are flexible enough around childcare, and when they do, their careers are suffering for it.” (Three-quarters of mothers with flexible work believe it is limiting their career progression, according to the latest survey.)

Flex Appeal wants to see flexible working advertised upfront in job listings, and companies offering a ‘flexible first’ approach. Ahead of the government consultation into flexible working, it also wants recognition of the flexible working roll-back that one-third of mothers are already experiencing.

The reality is, without flexible – specifically remote – work, many mothers would be forced to quit their jobs because typical working hours simply do not fit around the school day.

What’s more, wraparound childcare comes at extra cost and securing it can be a major headache when school clubs only have limited capacity and slots become available at some obscure hour on a random weekday night – getting your hands on a Glastonbury ticket is probably easier.

That’s not even taking into account the huge swathes of time kids have off school in a year versus the standard amount of days (28, usually) most full-time workers get as paid annual leave.

Of the mothers surveyed, 20% said they have complete flexibility at work, while 38% said they have partial flexibility.

Many mums reported a negative attitude towards flexible working in their organisations. Only 14% said they feel comfortable asking for flexible working, and one in five (20%) say their workplace is explicitly unsupportive.

Almost one in three mums (29%) said their flexibility arrangements are informal, leaving many powerless to fight back if managers make a U-turn.

“It’s not just women who are negatively impacted, either; businesses are losing highly qualified, skilled, experienced employees every day because of rigid, out-of-date policies,” Whitehouse continued.

“Flexible working can and does work, but more needs to be done to implement it.”