Working from home has become the new norm for many workers and overwhelmingly, many think that they will never return to the old ways of working ever again due to its positive impacts. However, some may believe that employees’ love of working from home is because they despise going into to the office yet, that is not necessarily the case.
According to a new academic study of London’s workers by King’s College London’s Policy Institute and Business School, most London employees still harbour positive feelings about being in their office; but it is the journey that is causing the issue, with avoiding commuting seen as the top benefit of WFH.
The study found that six in ten London workers are now hybrid working, as defined by working from home at least one day a week and from their workplace fewer than five days a week. Before the pandemic, 37% said they worked from home at least once a week but now 75% reported doing so in the past four weeks.
Sentiments about returning to the office full time are still strong as three in five said that they would react negatively if their employer tried to force them to come into the office more regularly. Three in four Londoners think they will never return to the previous ways of working (going into their workplace five or more days a week) compared to just 10% who think they will.
Yet, employees feel as though senior management do not share the same sentiments as they do. A majority of 56% believed that senior management at their work wanted more of their staff to come into the workplace more often, while only 16% do not think this is the case.
As for the benefits to WFH, avoiding commuting was seen as the biggest benefit with eight in ten feeling this way followed by the ability to manage home/social responsibilities (66%)—with women more likely than men to cite this as a factor.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
