A new study has found that nearly half of British workers will quit their current roles unless business leaders offer up some form of remote working flexibility.
A poll from Ernest & Young (EY) revealed four-fifths of the UK workforce want flexibility in when or where they work. If they are not afforded this.
And added to this 47% of employees in the UK would consider leaving their job if working from home was scrapped altogether.
EY canvassed the views of more than 1,000 people from the UK, across multiple different industries and regions, and 16,000 globally, to explore their attitudes and experiences to work throughout the pandemic and into the ‘next normal’ in what has been dubbed one of the biggest surveys of its kind.
Up to 39% of respondents said they wanted flexibility in when they work, and 43% want flexibility in their current workplaces, with workers seeking two and three days remotely post-pandemic.
Post-pandemic, just 19% of respondents said they would prefer to work full time in the office.
Seema Farazi, EY People Advisory Services Partner, said: “Organisational culture has historically been built based on shared in-person experiences and it is fascinating to see that the new ways of working have improved such culture in the eyes of many employees.
“As we look towards the longer-term as organisations continue to transform their operations, employers will need to consistently re-assess conceptions of productivity and the impact on their cultures, ensuring their approach is optimised for the in-person, hybrid and digital work experience.”
The poll follows news last week that 67% of supervisors and business leaders consider remote workers more easily replaceable than onsite workers.
According to a poll released today by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) 62% believe full-time remote work is detrimental to employees’ career objectives and 72% would prefer all of their subordinates to be working in the office.
While most employees agree remote work is beneficial and increases performance, more than half say working remotely on a permanent basis would diminish networking opportunities (59%), cause work relationships to suffer (55%) and require them to work more hours (54%).
