As Lord Alan Sugar urges for ‘more bums back in the office’ across London, research from Office Freedom shares that almost 1 in 2 Brits would quit their jobs if asked to work five days a week in the office.
Following the covid pandemic, working from home has become a staple in many workers’ weekly routine, with Lord Sugar calling for more employees to return to the office as it helps aid development and team engagement.
New survey data, collected by flexible office broker Office Freedom, shares that UK workers are less reluctant to make the move, with the majority of those surveyed (48.2%) agreeing with the statement ‘Being told to come into the office five days a week again would make me quit my job’.
To what extent, if at all, do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Being told to come into the office five days a week again would make me quit my job?
Agree (NET) – 48.2%
Strongly agree – 16.6%
Somewhat agree – 31.6%
Neither agree nor disagree – 27.4%
Somewhat disagree – 13.7%
Strongly disagree – 10.7%
Disagree (NET) – 24.4%
The data also offered a generational breakdown of who is most likely to attend the office five days a week, with Gen Z workers identified as the most office shy. A third of those aged 18-24 revealed they head into the office Monday-Friday (33.9%), compared to 44.5% for Millennials (25-34 year olds), 53.5% for 35-44 year olds and 58.2% for 45-54 year olds.
Gen Z workers were also revealed to be more insistent on workplaces offering perks in order to increase office attendance. A staggering 70% of respondents in the 18-24 bracket agreed benefits should be offered up, in stark contrast to 33.5% of those in the older 55+ category.
When it came down to the most popular perks that could be offered to entice workers into the office, early finishes came out on top with almost half of respondents (49.5%) plumping for the option. Subsidised lunches came in second (39.2%), with subsidised travel in third (38.8%) and flexibility around hours for childcare in fourth (36.4%). More social events (24.6%) ranked fifth, while 22% were after guaranteed desk space and 18.2% wanting subsidised gym passes.
As for the nation’s reasons for wanting to work from home, the majority declared they find themselves more productive at home (42%), compared to 27.5% of those who claim to be more productive in office.
Richard Smith, spokesperson for Office Freedom, shares: “Attitudes toward working environments have transformed over the past few years as working from home has become much more a reality for many office workers in a way it wasn’t pre-pandemic.
“It’s not surprising people would like the option of being able to work from home as well as an office, but that almost half of respondents would be willing to quit their jobs is a testament to how hybrid working is strongly sought after.
“It’s interesting to see that younger workers believe perks should be offered by employees, as it shows a clear attitude difference across the generations and emphasises the complete overhaul in the way we work over the past few years.”
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