Hybrid working here to stay? Survey finds huge number of workers would quit if ordered back to the office

• Half of UK workers would consider quitting over full-time office-working mandates, report finds
• Hays study sees three-quarters cite commuting costs as their number one concern
• 71% see equal or improved productivity among remote workers

Forcing employees back to the office full-time risks companies losing core talent, with most professionals highly valuing hybrid working for its cost and wellbeing benefits, new research has found.

Nearly half (48%) of 8,000 UK organizations quizzed by recruitment company Hays said they would even consider quitting if they were forced back to the office full-time, highlighting how important it is for companies to consider worker needs.

The study also noted a gender disparity, with women (58%) over a third more likely to quit over full-time office mandates than men (42%).

Workers are willing to quit over full-time office mandates

Of those surveyed by Hays, more than three-quarters (77%) follow a hybrid working model, with three days per week in the office most common.

Around one in five (22%) still allow staff to choose their own remote working days, but this has dropped from more than a quarter (26%) just six months ago, indicating that flexibility could be on the decline.

On the flip side, one in five organizations have increased their office attendance requirements. Thankfully, just 8% of companies plan to mandate a full-time return in the next six months, though the study doesn’t detail how many companies plan to implement such measures beyond six months.

Businesses seem to understand that workers want more flexibility, because two in three (66%) noted that they fear staff backlash if office attendance were to be enforced more strictly.

Interestingly, it’s the financial benefits that appear to be most enticing for workers wanting to stay at home. Nearly nine in 10 (88%) say full-time office work would raise their commuting costs, with 73% citing commuting costs as their top concern.

“Before making any significant changes to their current working model, employers must look at the bigger picture and consider key factors such as the cost of commuting, work-life balance, employee wellbeing, productivity and the host of benefits that hybrid working can bring to their business, in order to retain talent in a tough market,” Hays UK&I COO Pam Lindsay-Dunn commented.

Thankfully, only 13% believe remote workers are less productive than their office-based counterparts, with 52% noting productivity equality and 19% adding that home workers are more productive.

Via The Guardian

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