The UK workforce’s strength of feeling over working from home has been laid bare, with a new study showing that nearly 8 out of 10 (78%) Brits would move jobs if they were offered the chance to work fully remotely on a permanent basis.
When the pandemic first struck and millions of employees were forced to work from home, many businesses feared their staff would simply be skiving; Lord Alan Sugar and Netflix chairman Reed Hastings both claimed they did not see any benefits to WFH.
Two years later and businesses across the country are now bowing to staff demands and mulling much smaller offices, slashing costs; their recruitment efforts have also benefitted as potential candidates can now be based anywhere in the country.
And, according to a survey of 1,021 UK workers, undertaken by Marketing Signals, just over half (52%) of workers now feel they are more productive working away from the office and cite that being able to work in a quiet and relaxed setting meant they could deal with difficult tasks more effectively.
When asked the reasons as to why working remotely would make them take the leap of moving jobs, 60% said it would allow them to enjoy a more flexible working environment and a better work/life balance, including being able to attend specific appointments without having to take a day off work.
In addition, 44% revealed working remotely allowed them to create a healthier daily routine, with just over one in five (22%) being able to fit in a morning workout before their working day begins.
Moreover, 33% said working from home helped strengthen their relationship with their partner, as they were able to make more time for them.
In a nod to Publicis, which recently set up a scheme that would allow agency staff to work from any of its 100 offices around the world for up to six weeks a year, 40% said they would use this as an opportunity to work abroad without having to take annual leave. More than a third (35%) said it helped with their mental health by giving them more time to spend at home with friends and family.
The survey also revealed the other incentives which would see employees take the plunge and change jobs: 70% would do so for a pay rise, just under half (49%) would do it for a promotion, 35% for a dream job and just over one in five (27%) for unlimited annual leave.
Commenting on the results, Marketing Signals managing director Gareth Hoyle said: “Covid-19 has had a seismic impact on the way businesses work, with many companies having been obligated to get their staff to work from home, often for the first time.
“At Marketing Signals we decided at the end of the first lockdown to become a fully remote company after consulting with staff who said they were enjoying the flexibility of working remotely.
“As the feedback, we received from the team was overwhelmingly positive, we invested in making remote working as comfortable as possible by providing a budget to each staff member for desks, chairs and monitors etc.
“We run a policy not of ‘work from home’ but ‘work from anywhere – our client base is global so why shouldn’t our team be as well? However, we have a strict policy of not being obliged to respond to emails out of working hours, regardless of what timezone someone is in. That said, we do host regular video calls to check in and see how everyone is doing.”
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