Department for Transport splurges nearly £10m on hybrid working devices

Hybrid working is being embraced by The Department for Transport (DfT), with the UK government department investing just shy of £10 million in devices to help support flexible working.

The move by the DfT is observed by research retrieved by the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), which highlights the expenditure the department has plunged on laptops, tablets, and phones over the past three years, as well as the number of devices.

Overall, £8,880,249 has been spent on hybrid-friendly devices since 2019 with smartphones making up over two-thirds of the investment.

Plus, between 2021 and 2022, as part of a ‘smartphone refresh” programme, the DfT injected an extra £4,441,797.

The news comes amidst a number of rail strikes throughout the summer which left workers stranded in their home environment.

Cybersecurity expert Achi Lewis, Area Vice President EMEA of Absolute Software, commented: “With the transport sector being such a mobile industry, it is important that staff have a means of staying connected and online in a work from anywhere world, and the DfT should be commended for their investment in this area.”

“But the increase in devices results in an increased attack surface, and consequently a need to bolster cybersecurity measures. This encompasses endpoint security and secure access capabilities, as well as network visibility and management, helping IT teams to prevent and minimise threats.”

Hybrid working has been hailed by many employees. Earlier this year, Apple’s decision to slowly shift workers back to a three-day working week caused an uproar among staff as they said it will make the company ‘younger, whiter, [and] more male-dominated’.

A study by Cord revealed that the industry most embracing hybrid working is the tech sector, with almost 40% of tech roles on the jobs networking site offering a remote option and 80% giving applicants the option of being hybrid.

Yet, Airbnb shone on contentions of the hybrid model, saying “Zoom is great for maintaining relationships, but it’s not the best way to deepen them,” adding that “some creative work is best done in the same room.’

It may be that hybrid working needs some development before more industries consider fully rerouting towards this way of operating.