Hybrid Work: What Research Says on Retention, Culture, Location

Hybrid work continues to be examined from several distinct angles by researchers and commentators, though the available evidence does not point to a single unified trend. Three sources, published between 2021 and 2026, address retention, workplace culture, and regional migration separately, and their findings should not be conflated.

Retention claims from an Infosys executive

In a March 2023 opinion column for HR Dive, Rajesh Varrier, an Infosys executive vice president, wrote that the Infosys Knowledge Institute's Future of Work report found companies that had embraced hybrid working were more likely to retain staff, and that stronger retention was linked to increased revenues in the report's findings. Varrier also cited survey data indicating that 73% of respondents expected flexible or remote arrangements to expand in their organizations, and that 65% said they were hiring remote workers because candidates preferred that arrangement, according to HR Dive. These figures come from a vendor-affiliated report and reflect self-reported expectations rather than independently verified outcomes.

Culture and technology arguments from Chief Learning Officer

In an Aug. 23, 2021 analysis for Chief Learning Officer, Lars Hyland argued that framing hybrid work as a binary choice between remote and office work overlooks opportunities to redesign workplace technology and culture. The piece cited U.K. research finding that 70% of city workers believed being physically present in the office would increase their chances of promotion, that 82% wanted employers to revamp benefits and perks, and that 71% felt their company's benefits were outdated, according to Chief Learning Officer. That analysis is now more than four years old and reflects conditions and survey data from that period.

What a 2026 study found about remote work and migration

A July 2026 paper published in Regional Science Policy & Practice, based on UK Labour Force Survey data from 2022 and 2025, distinguished between fully remote work, remote-centric hybrid work (50% or more remote time), and office-centric hybrid work (less than 50% remote time). The study found that fully remote work, not hybrid arrangements, was associated with inter-regional migration and what the authors described as a measurable rural revival in Great Britain. Remote-centric hybrid work showed only limited expansion into rural locations, while office-centric hybrid work was geographically indistinguishable from traditional on-site employment, according to the paper. The researchers also found that remote work patterns generally mirrored existing wage geographies rather than reducing regional disparities.

These three sources address different questions using different methodologies and time periods. Readers evaluating hybrid work policy should treat the retention figures, workplace culture survey data, and migration findings as separate bodies of evidence rather than as parts of a single trend.