Half of UK workers would be happy to return to the office full time – on one condition
Over half of the UK’s office workers are willing to work in the office five days a week, but they expect their employers to pay for it.
A new report revealed that if required to come into the office more, 51% of workers would renegotiate their compensation package.
The report found that men (58%) were more likely than women (43%) to discuss this with their employer. Moreover, a higher percentage of men felt their office working policy was ‘fair’ and anticipated increased flexibility.
The study also surveyed 500 business owners and senior leaders, with 59% open to renegotiating with staff to facilitate a return to the office. Specifically, 47% said they would offer more flexible working hours to help employees avoid peak travel times.
The poll showed that nearly a third of business leaders and senior managers now have employees in the office or workspace five days a week.
Business leaders strongly believe that a fully remote team would negatively impact their profits and six in 10 are actively assessing the effect of their office working policy on productivity.
Interestingly, over half of office workers said they would be more productive working in the office five days a week.
According to the report, three-quarters believe that the office environment is superior for collaboration, and 77% feel their work suffers when they don’t have a personal connection with their colleagues.
The report was commissioned by Gett, London’s black taxi app. Rosie McKinnon from Gett said: “Our report reveals overall sentiment towards returning to the office is that it is better for individual and business performance.
”The majority of organisations will stay agile and adapt to different working policies and patterns. The importance of being able to travel to shared workspaces to connect remains a constant.”
Despite being perceived as the biggest downside of working in an office, 74% of office workers are choosing to use their time on the commute productively on work tasks, according to the data carried out through OnePoll.com
This is more common for younger workers aged 18-24 and 25-34 (91 and 88% respectively) compared to those aged 55 and above (51%).
Rosie added: “Wherever it’s done, workers and their employers will see stronger results from people engaging in ‘intentional working’ – maximising the time they spend with colleagues collaborating, problem solving, and innovating.”
“As we all strive for work/life balance, this shows commitment to making all ‘work’ time count.
“The organisations we partner with that empower their teams with flexibility and autonomy, choose us to help guarantee that those work journeys are smoother and quicker for their workers and create an opportunity to be more productive.”
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