HR Heartbeat: growing pension auto-enrolment tension, office working causes 25% drop in productivity

Welcome to HR Heartbeat, where we take a look at the week’s most pressing HR and employment law stories. With over a decade of experience as a solicitor working in employment law, I give my opinion on current trends impacting your business, as well as my own personal commentary on all things HR and legal.

Rigid office-first working causes productivity to drop 25%

According to a recent survey, there is a “growing mismatch between workplace models and workforce needs” across Ireland and the UK. Over 1,000 white-collar workers were surveyed for the research, which revealed a generational gap in opinion.

52% of millennials (aged 29-44) strongly agreed that they do their best work in a flexible-hybrid model. This figure drops to 37% for Generation X (aged 45-60) and just 34% for Generation Z (aged 18-28).

To make long-term hybrid or flexible models effective, organisations need to look at how they communicate. BrightHR offers secure, unlimited document storage that can be accessed remotely, allowing for collaborative work and instant access. And if you’re concerned about staff wellbeing, our Employee Assistance Programme gives them access to support 24/7.

1 in 4 businesses aren’t ready for pension auto-enrolment

According to research, one in four businesses have yet to take action to prepare for pension auto-enrolment, which will launch in January 2026. For an estimated 800,000 workers, this is the first time they will be enrolled into an occupational pension scheme.

62% of employers are planning to enrol affected employees into an existing pension scheme, to avoid updating separate systems. If you’d like to save time and simplify your payroll processes, our Payroll Navigator will help you submit accurate information to Revenue, store essential staff details securely, understand key payroll terms and run regular and accurate reports. It’s also integrated with BrightHR software, so you can seamlessly run all of your HR processes in one place, from health & safety software to performance management tools.

And that’s a wrap from me. Tune in next time for my take on the latest headlines and employment law stories, helping keep your business ahead!