New data has found that three-quarters (75%) of UK office workers said that they don’t want to return to the office full-time once normality returns.  

According to the latest research from digital coaching provider Ezra, 22% of UK office workers said that they will continue working from home full-time following the coronavirus crisis.

In addition, just over half (53%) said that they plan to split their time and work part-time from the office.

On the other hand, the 2,175-strong study – carried out by Find Out Now – found that just a quarter of UK office staff plan to return to a central workplace full-time post-pandemic.

This news comes despite the boss of Goldman Sachs, David Solomon, recently describing the current remote work trend as an “aberration that we’re going to correct as soon as possible”.

Speaking to a conference last week, the investment bank boss said: “I do think for a business like ours, which is an innovative, collaborative apprenticeship culture, this is not ideal for us. And it’s not a new normal.”

‘More permanent changes’

Nick Goldberg, Founder of Ezra, said that the way people work could change more permanently given that many have had a flavour of remote working amid the pandemic and intend to keep it in some way going forwards.

He explained: “If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the advances in technology can easily facilitate a productive working environment without the need for employees to travel to the same physical location.

“This certainly won’t be the case for every company or every sector and it’s important to note that technology can only play a limited role in the success of remote working.

“The need for a human influence to manage, motivate and evaluate is still pivotal but the right balance of both technology and human can be as successful, if not more so, than the conventional place of work,” Goldberg added.

Salesforce & Unilever signal to more flexible work models

Over the last few weeks, the topic of changing working models has been widely discussed and several employers have hit headlines after announcing plans to adopt a hybrid mode of work.

The streaming company Spotify announced that it was adopting a ‘Work from Anywhere’ model, under which staff can choose whether they want to be in an office full-time, work from home full-time or a combination of both.

According to Spotify’s blog, the new initiative has been described as a “new way of collaborating that allows [Spotify staff] to work from wherever they do their best thinking and creating”.

Elsewhere, Unilever’s Chief Executive Alan Jope said that the company would look at different work patterns and make big changes far more quickly than previously thought – the Guardian reported.

Speaking at a Reuters conference last month, the boss said that he did not expect office workers to return to a physical workspace until at least April 2021.

In addition to this, he also said that the business would adopt a ‘hybrid mode’ of working between homes and offices after that period.

“We anticipate never going back to five days a week in the office. That seems very old-fashioned now,” he said at the time.

Twitter staff they can work from home ‘forever’

While many organisations have signalled towards a hybrid approach post-pandemic, other employers have told staff that they can work from home ‘forever’ if they want to.

After revealing that its work-from-home measures had proven to be a success in May last year, Twitter said it would let its employees make the decision regarding where they work.

At the time, Twitter said: “The past few months have proven we can make that work.

“So, if our employees are in a role and situation that enables them to work from home and they want to continue to do so forever, we will make that happen,” the tech giant added.

The future of remote working still remains unclear for many companies but as industry leaders take the leap, so too may other companies. 

My Grapevine

3rd March 2021