Enterprise application firm Unit4 has released its 2025 State of Digital report into digital transformation in the UK Public Sector.

It revealed a significant drop-off in remote and hybrid working compared to the last report in 2023, with only 15% operating a fully remote working model compared to 37% previously, and 49% operating some form of hybrid model now as opposed to 93% in 2023.

While there are clear reasons for wanting staff to return to the office such as easing collaboration, driving cost savings and easing security concerns about sensitive data, this indicates a major strategy shift which is likely to impact the sector’s ability to attract and retain talent.

Does the UK Public Sector want to return to the office?

Despite a quarter of UK respondents admitting they are being majorly impacted by on-going challenges from the Covid 19 legacy, organisations are still pressing ahead with return-to-office (RTO) or working location mandates. However, the findings below should ring urgent alarm bells for senior executives and HR leaders in the public sector:

• 24% in the UK say they struggle to recruit due to RTO or working location mandates. Globally, the figure is the same and in Sweden it is a bigger issue (27%)
• There has also been an increase in general challenges surrounding recruitment and retention, including:
• A drop in the ability to recruit staff with the right skills: 41% in 2023 vs 35% in 2025. This is in contrast to the international average where respondents say they have seen an improvement in 2025 (41%) in finding people with the right skills compared to 2023 (36%)
• A reduction in being able to recruit from a wider geographic area thanks to remote and hybrid working: 43% in 2023 vs 23% in 2025. In Sweden, this has remained fairly consistent in 2023 (31%) and 2025 (30%)
• More respondents in 2025 (17%) admit it is harder to retain skilled workers compared to 2023 (13%), which is also a major issue in the Netherlands – it was only an issue for 17% of respondents in 2023, but now stands at 25% in 2025

“The people aspect of digital transformation should never be under-estimated, so Public Sector decision-makers ought to think carefully before they go too far back down the path of mandating office-based work,” said Mark Gibbison, AVP Global Public Sector and Higher Education, Unit4.

“The continued support among workers for remote and hybrid working cannot be ignored. If the Public Sector wants to attract the best candidates it must be willing to adapt or find alternative solutions, such as increasing automation and use of AI to support the existing workforce to do their jobs.”

Are other Public Sector organisations internationally mandating office return?

The UK mirrors international trends in RTO mandates, as only 16% respondents say they operate a 100% remote working model in 2025, compared to 33% in 2023, while 33% operate a hybrid model today versus 53% in 2023.

Just over half of international respondents (51%) are fully office based today compared to 13% on average globally in 2023, with the Netherlands having the highest number (63%) who say they are office-based today.

In Canada although the number of respondents has gone down compared to 2023 (89%), 66% say that currently their organisations operate a remote/ hybrid model. For Sweden, the Netherlands and Canada combined 41% on average of those who are not fully office based today plan to move to this model within two years.

On a more positive note, UK respondents say they have much less of an issue with having to hire staff who do not have the right skills – only 15% say it is an issue in 2025, compared to 27% in 2023.

Equally, they have more chance of finding the right candidates in 2025 as only 11% say they cannot find the right recruits compared to 27% in 2023.

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Respondents also say it is easier to recruit staff with greater or technical expertise – only 3% agreed with this statement in 2023 compared to 38% in 2025.

Given that a separate study in May this year by the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London and King’s Business School, showed growing resistance to an RTO mandate, the UK Public Sector is going to have to work very hard to retain critical IT skills and ensure diverse workforce representation of its communities at a time when it is trying to drive radical transformation.

Seventy-four percent of UK respondents in 2025 to Unit4’s study expect to complete their change strategies in two years versus 49% in 2023, which means Public Sector organisations must consider attractive, flexible working packages to recruit and retain talent.

Overall, 58% of workers now say they would either quit immediately (9%) or start looking for a new job (49%) if required to return full-time. Women are more likely to resist, with 64% saying they would quit straight away or seek alternative employment, compared to 51% of men. Just one in three (33%) mothers with young children say they would comply with full-time office mandates.