Hybrid working remains one of retail’s hottest topics. Employees value flexibility, yet employers are calling for more time in the office. With major retailers revising policies and predictions that four days will soon be the norm, is the balance shifting back towards office life?
What our LinkedIn poll revealed about hybrid working
To find out how employees really feel about office working, we asked our LinkedIn community: How many days would you like to work in the office vs from home?
With 370 responses, the results painted a clear picture:
- 8% said 5 days in the office
- 17% said 4 days in the office
- 46% said 3 days in the office
- 30% said 2 days in the office
The overwhelming preference was for a three-day work week in the office, signalling that most professionals still want the flexibility to balance work and home life. Two days also attracted significant support, showcasing a clear appetite for hybrid structures that favour remote working.
However, far fewer respondents backed four or five days, highlighting a contrasting preference to the direction many retailers now seem to be taking. While many employees prefer three days, the reality is shifting. Four days is becoming the benchmark, and expectations are rising.
Why retail leaders are pushing for four days
Although our poll revealed that most employees favour three days in the office, many retail leaders are increasingly setting their sights on four. In my recent article for Retail Week, I explain why the momentum back towards office working “will be hard to stop.”
Immediately after the pandemic, three days became the natural compromise: it offered flexibility while keeping teams connected. But over the past year, a number of retailers have raised the bar.
Primark has told product teams to return to four days a week, John Lewis now requires commercial staff to spend more time in offices, stores or with suppliers, and Morrisons has gone even further, reinstating a five-day working week.
Interestingly, while our poll showed most employees prefer three days, senior professionals were more likely to favour four or five days in the office. This alignment between senior leadership preferences and company policies suggests that those driving these decisions may genuinely believe in the benefits of increased office presence and (most importantly) are willing to model it themselves.
So why four days? For leaders, the benefits are compelling:
- Creativity and collaboration thrive when people are together in person.
- Career development is accelerated by visibility, mentorship, and informal learning.
- Culture and wellbeing are strengthened when teams share time in the workplace.
Three days is likely to become the minimum, but four will become the ideal. For most businesses, this strikes the right balance between flexibility and performance.
Pushing to five risks alienating talent and shrinking the candidate pool, especially for senior hires that may not be able or willing to relocate. Four, then, may be the sweet spot.
Mondays and Fridays: Why the days matter
It’s not just about how many days employees spend in the office: it’s also about which days.
Allan Leighton, executive chair at Asda, recently asked head office colleagues to prioritise Mondays and Fridays rather than clustering their time midweek. His concern was that too many people were choosing Tuesday to Thursday, leaving offices quiet at the start and end of the week.
For retail, this shift makes perfect sense. Monday is when trading reviews, planning, and kick-off meetings happen. Friday, meanwhile, is vital for closing the week, supporting stores, and preparing for peak weekend trade. If teams aren’t visible and available on those days, the rhythm of the business can suffer.
In retail, presence isn’t just symbolic: it’s practical. Being in the office on Mondays and Fridays ensures teams are aligned with customer needs and store operations at the times that matter most. For senior leaders, especially, visibility on these days sends a strong message about priorities.
As polices evolve, it seems likely that not just the number of days, but the choice of days, will become a defining feature of hybrid working in retail.
What should retail leaders do now?
With employees still leaning towards three days and employers pushing for four, many retail leaders might find themselves at a crossroads. The challenge is to create policies that meet business needs without alienating staff.
Based on our poll and everything we’ve discussed in this article, we’ve highlighted four practical steps leaders can take:
- Be transparent
Clearly explain why office presence matters. Link attendance policies directly to collaboration, career development, and customer needs, so employees understand the purpose behind the expectation.
- Prioritise key days
Make Mondays and Fridays count again. Use these days for team meetings, store visits, and cross-functional collaboration: the activities that benefit most from in-person presence.
- Stay flexible
Even as four days becomes the norm, leaving room for at least one remote day shows trust and supports work-life balance. This small concession can make a big difference to morale. Take care to respect people’s individual circumstances too: a strict, blanket rule won’t be doable for everyone.
- Lead by example
Senior leaders must model the behaviours they expect. Visibility on important days sends a strong message and helps embed the new ‘rhythm’ across the business.
Successfully implementing these changes requires strong leadership and clear communication. Many retail leaders find that navigating this transition benefits from expert guidance, whether through leadership coaching to develop the skills needed to manage hybrid teams effectively, or transition coaching to help organisations move smoothly from one working model to another.
By taking a guided, balanced approach, leaders can align hybrid working with both commercial demands and employee preferences and expectations.
How agp can support retail leaders through the hybrid transition
The shift towards four-day office working is a fundamental transformation in how retail businesses operate. Success depends on leaders who can:
- Communicate transparently
- Manage diverse teams
- Understand the unique challenges facing their sector
At agp, we recognise that retail faces distinct pressures. From the rhythm of weekly trading cycles to the complexities of managing both head office and store-based teams, retail leadership requires a specialised understanding. Our leadership coaching helps senior executives develop the skills needed to navigate hybrid working challenges while maintaining the collaborative spirit that drives retail success.
The retailers getting hybrid working right are those who are investing in their leadership capability alongside their policy frameworks, creating confident, capable leaders who can bring their teams along for the journey.
In a sector where presence, visibility, and culture matter more than ever, the right support can make all the difference.
