According to new research, nine out of 10 people want to continue working from home. The report compiled by academics at the universities of Cardiff and Southampton said 88% of employees that worked from hoe during the lockdown want to continue.
Around 41% or workers said that they got as much work done at home as they did six months previously.
Some 30% or workers said that their work productivity had dropped and more than a quarter, 29% said they got more work done.
Professor Alan Felstead, based at Cardiff University and the Wales Institute of Social & Economic Research, Data & Methods (WISERD), said the results suggested there could be a “major shift” from traditional working.
Professor Felstead said, “What is particularly striking is that many of those who have worked at home during lockdown would like to continue to work in this way, even when social distancing rules do not require them to.
“These people are among the most productive, so preventing them from choosing how they work in the future does not make economic sense.
“Giving employees flexibility on where they work could be extremely beneficial for companies as they attempt to recover from the impact of Covid-19.”
Report co-author Darja Reuschke, from the University of Southampton said, “City centre high streets have been hard hit by the pandemic and are likely to remain quiet for some time to come as fewer people return to traditional places of work.
“However, this also provides an opportunity for us to radically rethink our city centres as multi-use places that accommodate different kinds of economic uses and are not built around fast roads that connect workplaces with residences.”
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