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Tag: Work from home

  • Study reveals work from home gender discrepancy

    The SEO agency Clickslice has found that men and women work from home at different rates, and in different ways. Analysis of ONS data reveals that 8% of men have not worked from home in the past seven days, although their employer allows it, compared to 10% of women choosing the office.

    Not all of this comes down to choice, however – women are more likely to be allowed to work from home than men. Of the 2,850 people surveyed, 34% of the women said that they are not allowed to work from home, whereas 42% of the men said that they had to go to the office. Clickslice CEO Joshua George commented on the difference.

    “It’s interesting to see how gender plays a role in working from home behaviours. While more women are working from home either all or some of the time, more men are choosing to work from home if they have the choice between that or the office,” George says, “Further research shows that Brits are planning to continue working from home. ONS data from February 2022 revealed that 84% of workers who had to work from home because of the coronavirus pandemic said they planned to carry out a mix of working at home and in their place of work in the future.”

    The pandemic opened up new possibilities for those looking to work remotely, and many are taking the opportunity. However, there is a discrepancy between the way that workers and bosses view working from home. Employees generally believe that they are more productive home workers, while bosses are not convinced. George highlights the issue this may raise.

    “Research shows that bosses and workers disagree about productivity when working from home. In a recent survey by Microsoft of over 20,000 people, bosses worry about whether working from home is as productive as being in the office. 87% of workers felt they worked as, or more, efficiently from home, yet 80% of managers disagreed. This discrepancy is something that both business owners and workers should be aware of to ensure that there is no confusion or resentment about where people choose to work,” George says.

    There is no question that a mixture of working from home and going into the office is rapidly becoming more accepted, whether bosses like it or not. Due to the labour shortage, potential employees who are told they cannot work remotely will not have a very hard time finding an employer who will allow it. Therefore, it is more important than ever for businesses to be open-minded and flexible.

  • Work perks: What do employees want, and what benefits are on offer?

    Patrick Crowder

    As vacancies soar, UK businesses are scrambling to provide benefits and incentives to attract new talent – but how do the perks on offer line up with the expectations of a post-Covid workforce?

    To find out, the call answering service Moneypenny analysed 1,000 job listings on Indeed and compared them to survey responses from 1,000 employees. They found that the top benefit offered by businesses is also the benefit which employees desire most – a pension.

    Though providing pensions to is a legal requirement in the UK cemented in the Pensions Act 2008, 41% of the job listings examined listed pensions as a “perk”. On the employees’ side, 42% of those surveyed said that a pension is the most important benefit a job can offer.

    Predictably, flexible working hours and the ability to work from home appears high on both lists, with 40% saying that flexible working hours are essential, and 30% demanding work from home options. 22% of the Indeed listings included the ability to work from home, while only 12% listed flexible working as a perk.

    Interestingly, some of the most popular perks in the job listings are the benefits which many employees believe should be made mandatory. Over half of the respondents said that sick pay and pensions should be mandatory, and 46% believe that flexible working hours should be a mandatory option for employers to offer.

    Other benefits, such as free eye tests, working from home, maternity/paternity/adoption leave, time off in lieu of overtime, coffee/tea, training, and death in service insurance, all saw over 30% of employees respond that these perks should be required by employers.

    Moneypenny also looked at the benefits that employees already have, and this varied based on generation. 18–24-year-olds are most likely to have access to training and time off in the case of losing a child, while over-65s are most likely to have a pension and sick pay. Both age groups reported that they are likely to have on-site parking available to them.

    What matters to employees also varied by generation, with a quarter of younger people surveyed saying that they would be interested in having beers on Fridays. Only 2% of employees over 65 agreed with their younger colleagues.

    As the talent shortage continues, it is likely that employers will need to offer more in order to attract employees. The survey shows that the most important benefits to employees (pension, sick pay, and flexible working hours), are among the benefits listed most often by employers. However, less than half of the job listings offered even the top choices, showing that more will need to be done if businesses want to bring in highly motivated, talented employees.

    Source:

    https://www.moneypenny.com/uk/

  • The WFH revolution is here, but the office is still the most popular option, finds YouGov poll

    Patrick Crowder

    New research conducted by YouGov Cambridge as part of their Globalism Project reveals the different ways people wish to work after the pandemic. Their survey of 27 countries asks where people would prefer to work if they had the choice – in the home or office – and how often they would like to do so.

    Denmark and Japan have the lowest desire to remove the office from work life completely, with only 8% of respondents in both countries stating that they would like to work from home full time. US, South African, and Brazilian workers are the most eager to ditch their commutes, with 27-28% saying that they wouldn’t like to work in an office at all.

    In the UK, the most popular option is to work in an office full-time with no work from home element. While 38% of UK workers don’t want to work from home at all, 23% want to work from home “most” of the time, and 21% want to work from home only “some” of the time. This desire for flexibility outweighs the nation’s desire to embrace the home office, with 18% of people saying that they would prefer full-time work in the home.

    As we have seen that Japanese workers have little desire to work from home, it stands to reason that Japan also has the highest number of people who want to work in the office full time, at 52%. Italian workers are second on the list for wanting to retain traditional office life at 48%, trailed closely by Spain and Germany which both saw 46% of workers wishing to keep their offices.

    Most workers in all of the countries surveyed are willing to work from home at least some of the time, with percentages for that option hovering between 20-40% across the board. Some countries, however, are resistant to working from home for most of the time, including Japan, Denmark, Spain, and France which all saw responses for that category falling below 15%.

    Across all of the countries surveyed, working in the office full time was the most popular choice at 32%. While 47% of workers are happy to work from home in some capacity at work (if we combine the respondents who chose to work from home “most of the time” and “some of the time”), only 17% are willing to make working from home their full time job. 

    However you like to work, it seems that there will always be someone else who would prefer something different – and with a bit of added flexibility and solid organisation, that’s not a problem. 

    Data: YouGov Cambridge https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/jgy6eyxvvs/Globalism21_CovidImact_AllCountries_WFHRebase.pdf

  • New survey: 66 per cent of workers require more mental health support

    New survey: 66 per cent of workers require more mental health support

    Patrick Crowder

    Over half of the UK is nervous about returning to work, according to a study by Westfield Health. Some sectors are experiencing more anxiety than others, and overall, employees are asking for more wellbeing support and a clear plan from their employers about the future.

    Westfield Health surveyed 1,500 people in the UK about what the return to work following the pandemic will mean for them. 89 per cent of employees surveyed said that they were happy with their proposed future work plans, but in the government, transport and logistics sectors, there is a large amount of uncertainty and dissatisfaction.

    The pandemic has caused some companies to look more closely at the mental health and wellbeing of their employees. However, it is not the case that all companies are doing a good job of this. According to Westfield Health, 66 per cent of employees surveyed said that they desired more wellbeing support from their employers, with 26 per cent saying that their company is currently missing “key wellbeing initiatives”.

    In transport and logistics, 69 per cent of employees stated that they were nervous about returning to work, and 15 per cent are unhappy with the level of communication they have received from their employers regarding future work plans. As the world tries to figure out what the future of work is going to look like, some employees are being left behind by employers who have not yet clarified what the “new normal” will look like for them.

    In terms of Covid restrictions, the transport sector is now in a strange limbo. Masks are still required on TfL services, for example, but all it takes is a ride on the tube to see that these rules are not widely enforced. This could add anxiety for transport employees who must work in-person, particularly for those who are concerned about catching Covid due to health issues.

    Government jobs had the highest level of uncertainty, with 25 per cent of employees reporting that they are unhappy about proposed future working plans. Furloughed workers are also lacking information, leaving only 28 per cent of them satisfied with their employers’ levels of communication.

    Coming out of the pandemic, people will need a strong sense of direction and certainty from their employers. It is, of course, difficult to predict what the future holds. However, continuing without the clearest roadmap possible in terms of the future of work, employees will be left to struggle with uncertainty and anxiety.

    The future of work

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  • Opinion – Work-from-home must be an option going forward

    Opinion – Work-from-home must be an option going forward

    By Patrick Crowder

    Now that restrictions are lifting, hopefully for the last time, there are mixed feelings about returning to work. Some are looking forward to it, some are concerned about catching Covid, and others simply don’t see the point. For those who crave the structure that a traditional office provides, that should always remain an option. But for those who dread the idea of getting back to their morning commutes, increased flexibility in the workplace is essential.

    Research from the global workplace specialists at Instant Offices shows that 90 per cent of office workers “want more flexibility in where and when they do their jobs”. That doesn’t come as much of a surprise – who wouldn’t want to choose their own hours and work from anywhere? Now that people have seen that their jobs can be done effectively from home, it will be difficult to return to rigid office hours without good reason.

    According to Instant Offices, 44 per cent of people looking for work are refusing positions that do not offer sufficient flexibility. This means that some workplaces may need to shift to at least a mixed home/office approach in order to employ enough qualified professionals to operate.

    Not everyone is going to want to work from home. It can be particularly difficult for parents of young children to have a distraction-free home office. Space is always an issue, especially in big cities such as London where young professionals often live in smaller accommodation. 

    Others enjoy the structure and feeling of community an office provides and feel that they work better in an environment of like-minded people. Some even enjoy their commutes as the back-and-forth bookends the work day allowing them time to leave their work life at work and home life at home.

    We know that working from home is a more comfortable solution for some people, and happy employees are generally more motivated and productive than one unhappy with their working situation. On top of that, Instant Offices’ research shows that 41 per cent of office workers believe that they are not only as productive, but more productive from home than they are in an office. 

    People will always work to their full potential in different ways, and that’s a good thing. Giving employees the option to work from home if they choose does not mean that nobody will come into the office to run the ship. Instead, companies will be able to reduce the size of their offices saving their employees time and themselves lease money.

    Companies must realise that people are unique in the ways that they get things done, and when everyone is forced to follow the same format, there will be a dip in productivity. Now that working from home has become normalised to a degree, a rigid return to the ways of old will only anger current employees and drive away potential new ones. There will always be a place for the traditional office, but it is time to allow the people who enjoy the WFH life to work to their full potentials.

    For more on the Instant Offices research go to: https://www.instantoffices.com/en/gb