5. October 2026
The Personio Index: Office jobs are gaining ground against hybrid
Anna Jager-Elliott
Welcome to Personio Pulse: This Week in HR, where each week we take a look at the latest trends in the world of work, what you need to know about them, and what they mean for you as an HR professional.
This week, we're looking at new data from the Q3 Personio Index on why onsite work is gaining ground again, even as hybrid remains the default.
What you need to know
The share of European job postings specifying onsite work climbed from 20.8% in H2 2022 to 34.6% by H1 2026, according to the latest Personio Index data. Remote postings fell by almost half over the same period, from 18.3% to 9.8%.
Hybrid still leads, at 49.2% of postings in H1 2026, down from a high of 62.8% in H1 2022. In the UK, remote job postings hit their lowest level since the pandemic in December 2025, down 42% year-on-year, according to Adzuna.
The direction is consistent across both datasets: candidates have less leverage for flexible working than they did two years ago, and employers are using it.
What others are saying about it
That shift in leverage is showing up in how HR consultants describe the market.
"The balance of power has clearly shifted towards employers," says Liz Sebag-Montefiore, Chief Executive and Co-Founder of 10Eighty, in People Management. “Recruitment processes are becoming more selective, timelines are lengthening and employers can afford to be more prescriptive about requirements, including location and office attendance.”
What that means for you
Replace vague hybrid labels with exact day requirements: Change job ads and policies from "hybrid" to specific expectations, like "onsite Tuesday to Thursday," so candidates can self-select before they apply.
Model attrition risk before announcing any attendance increase: Identify which current employees are in roles advertised as remote or flexible-hybrid when they were hired, since changing those terms after the fact could be a trigger for resignations.
Publish your exceptions policy: Name who qualifies for reduced office days (caregivers, client-facing roles, disabilities) and how to request it, so managers aren't making inconsistent calls case by case.
What else should I read?
The Personio Index report, Q3 2026: The full data behind this week's numbers, tracking European workforce trends in real time.
That's all for this edition of Personio Pulse: This Week in HR.
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