Studies indicate that hybrid working will be favoured by employees after lockdown
There’s no denying that the Covid-19 pandemic has expedited the biggest change in working patterns that the world has ever seen.
It’s believed that half of the UK’s office workers would be willing to leave their jobs if employers do not allow them to work in their preferred locations after lockdown.
Under the Government’s roadmap out of lockdown, workers will be asked to continue working from home where possible until at least June 21st 2021, when the Government has completed a review ahead of “Step 4” in its plan.
The survey found that 49% of office workers would look for a new job with a different company if they are unable to choose where they work after the Coronavirus pandemic has ended.
This will mean many UK workers will have worked from home for over a year, from March 2020 – June 2021.
The most recent ONS statistics show that 46.6% of employed people worked from home during 2020.
When extrapolated across the whole population, the findings indicate that up to 7.42 million people who are currently working from home would look to switch jobs, unless businesses agree to accommodate these preferences post-pandemic.
The findings also show that employer preferences are not currently aligned with those of employees, as over half (57%) of current home workers – more than 8.7 million people – are expected to be unable to work in their chosen way.
In the nationwide study of employees who were working from home during the UK’s third national lockdown, it was found that two-thirds of workers (64%) want to switch to hybrid working – a combination of home and office working – when safe to do so.
However, only one in ten (11%) believed that their bosses will give individuals the option to work their preferred choice once the pandemic is over. Less than half (44%) predict that their employer will choose a form of hybrid working.
Disconnect evident between business leaders and employees
There seems to be a clear disconnect between the experiences of business leaders and employees who are working from home.
The survey showed that less than half (48%) of office workers have exclusive access to a dedicated workspace at home (that has no other household uses), a third (33%) share their workspace with at least one other person, and 19% have no access to a dedicated workspace at all.
During the pandemic, the average worker has spent £215.55 on their home workstation, on items such as furniture and technology. Nearly two in three (63%) reported an increase in their household bills as a result of working from home.
However, office workers are saving money elsewhere. Pre-pandemic, office workers were spending an average of £105.67 each month on commuting to work. Over 12 months, that amounts to more than 5% of the average (after tax) salary: £30,420.
As a result, office workers have saved an average of £1,268 whilst working from home between March 2020 and February 2021.
The majority of people are working from home with one other homeworker (40%), followed by those who are the only person in the household working from home (38%).
The survey showed that almost half (47%) of homeworkers have a home schooling child in the same household during the third national lockdown, and are having to juggle professional responsibilities with childcare and education.
It also found that workers who are home schooling children ranked their ability to focus on work as 12% lower than when they are working in the office.
When asked to name the best aspect of working from home, the top three most common answers were:
Time saved commuting
Safety whilst working from home
Improved work/life balance.
However, others frequently cited both “isolation” and “distractions” as the top challenges of working from home.
Communication challenges at home
The research highlights communication issues amongst teams. The number of employees who said they had an effective working relationship with their manager fell by 12% while working from home (from 42% down to 37%).
Overall office workers ranked their overall job effectiveness as 7% worse while working from home compared to working in the office.
Should businesses now be building agility and flexibility into their workplace policies, to avoid being left behind when hybrid working becomes the norm? Business refusing to take employee preferences into account are at risk of losing staff, and will likely struggle to attract the best talent to replace them.
Businesses must consider how much they value strict traditional working patterns over the benefits of a hybrid working model, which can boost efficiency, productivity, recruitment, retention, and importantly, staff wellbeing.
Coronavirus has been a challenging time for many, and has put into perspective for us just how crucial wellbeing is for a thriving society. Now more than ever, we need to seize this opportunity to embrace hybrid working and create a better work-life balance for millions of people.