Survey finds that the UK workforce do not want to go back to the office full time

9 in 10 people would prefer the option of working from home at least once a week, shows the COVID-19 Remote Working survey

A new nation-wide study commissioned by Eskenzi PR, has found that the vast majority of the UK workforce would prefer to continue being able to work from home following the alleviation of COVID-19 restrictions.

The COVID-19 Remote Working Survey found that a third of respondents would prefer to continue working from home either every day or four days per week (31%). Just under a third of respondents are at the other end of the spectrum and would like to work from home one day a week, or less than weekly (25%).  However, for over a third of people (35%), the dream scenario would be to opt for a half-way house and work from home for half the week. Either way, only 9% would want to work in the office full-time, suggesting that 91% of the general working population would like to have the option of working from home.

There are numerous reasons for this change in attitude, including the time wasted through commuting. Indeed, over half of respondents (54.19%) agreed that this was their main reason for favouring a greater remote working culture. Nevertheless, it appeared that the older the population, the more pertinent this was. For those aged over 55, this was a concern cited over 20% more than those aged 18-24. The second most referenced response was the more relaxed working environment at home (44.92%). 

Remarkably, the opportunity to dress down for work attained 38.41% of the poll; ranking higher than the ability to work more productively (35.98%), or the feeling of being less stressed (34%) at home. In fact, it also ranks higher than spending quality time with family (28.48%). 

“This survey shows that for the first time ever, people have had a taste of working from home and they love it because they’re more relaxed, they don’t need to travel and can spend time with their family and pets. Interestingly, a third of respondents think the ideal working week would be better spent half at home and half in the office.  We can only hope that this great remote working experiment has shown employers that their staff can be trusted to work just as productively from home; particularly as it also appears to have a positive impact on their well-being as well as the environment. This can also be good for companies’ productivity and profitably, as they’ll need less office space with fewer people there 100% of the time, “ said Yvonne Eskenzi, founder and owner of Eskenzi PR. 

More than a third (34%) of respondents cited being home for deliveries as a reason in favour of remote working. This appeared to be more popular with those within the age range of 18-24 with 41.98%, compared to those over 55 (24.77%).

Almost a quarter (23.18%) of respondents want to work remotely to spend more time with their pets.

The age group that most wanted to work at home were 23-34 year olds (93%), while those over 55 appeared more keen to go into the office (86%).

Eskenzi PR is a global Tech PR agency and commissioned the survey with OnePoll amongst  1000 people in full time work across the U.K.

More from Family Friendly Working
Mumpreneur profile: Aisha of Little Wren
My name is Aisha Alkhaja and I am 35 years old My...
Read More