With restrictions slowly lifting and light at the end of the tunnel, people are getting excited about a return to some kind of normality moving forward. However, not everyone is thrilled about the prospect of returning to the office after a year of working remotely and enjoying all the benefits that this can bring.
Surveying UK Office Workers
Business card printing specialists instantprint carried out a survey in March which suggests that opinion is split when it comes to returning to the office. The survey asked 1,000 UK employees about their feelings on returning to the office along with the aspects that they are looking forward to and the ones they’re not so thrilled about.
Split Opinion
Interestingly, 36% still working from home would like to continue to do so on a full-time basis while 24% would ideally like a part-time situation where the majority of the week was spend working from home with some time spent in the office. 20% were ready to get back into work straight away while 14% would not be happy to return until June (when all restrictions are supposed to be lifted).
What People Have Missed
The survey also looked at what people had missed the most about the office while WFH. Unsurprisingly, it is the small talk that people missed the most with 33% followed by the social side of work (31%%), general gossip (31%) and taking a proper lunch break (26%). This suggests that people have mainly missed spending time with co-workers and the social side of work, which is certainly understandable when you consider the restrictions that have interfered with people’s social lives so much over the last year.
Hybrid Model the Best Solution?
The survey shows that the UK’s workers are split on opinion on WFH and it will be hard to keep everyone satisfied moving forward. The hybrid working model where employees can work from home for a few days of the week and spend the others in the office is perhaps the best way to keep staff happy and would allow them to enjoy the perks of both remote work and coming into the office. The key is to ensure that both productivity and morale remain high at all times, so communication and flexibility will be key moving forward.
With many getting used to the perks of remote work over the last year, it is understandable that many are not thrilled about the prospect of returning to the office but there are also many that are keen to get back and enjoy the social side of work.
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