The bottom line is – Only 7% of British workers want to return to the office full-time after Covid-19 restrictions are lifted. 18% say they would now choose to work from home every day, and 32% say they’d like to be at home most days.
This is an excerpt from a recent article in The Times, and one which we believe we really have to pay attention to. 2020 has been a year unlike any other in our lifetime, one which has forced us to evaluate every factor in our lives, from our job roles to our home life balance. Although many advancements have been made in recent weeks with regards COVID-19 and our roadmap to a ‘normal’ way of life, which such things as vaccines and localised tiered lockdowns, our working lives many never fully return to ‘normal’.
Which begs the question “will working from home become the new norm?”. Well we already know that remote working is simply not possible for every sector, but there certainly are advancements being made in technology that have bridged the gap where it may not have felt possible before! There have been dance classes conducted via zoom, virtual doctor appointments, contactless vet appointments, even we at Bespoke Construction Group moved with the times and offered virtual meetings as of this year in order to keep clients plans moving!
Many employers were sceptical at the start of lockdowns etc that having their staff ‘remotely working’ would be effective, however, studies have shown that in fact, when workers and work from home, they are able to achieve a better work life balance and therefore reports show an increase in productivity! Those who are working from home take fewer sick days, for the simple fact that they are exposed to fewer germs than they would be by coming into the office. Of course by having this better work life balance, those workers are more likely to feel fulfilled in their home life and less likely to need a sick day.
And how about the positive effects on the planet? Global Workforce Analytics estimates that remote workers could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons every year, and that’s just if people worked out of the office for only half of the work week. Don’t forget about the fact that if you are working from you are not driving to work, and therefore not fuelling your car for those days, or adding to the amount of traffic on the roads! If you’re not in the office, you’re not using the resources you might normally use, like printing on reams and reams of paper – we’re more likely to be using technology to create digital presentations and email them.
With all of these factors in play, it’s hard to imagine that remote working would not factor in our future! Irrespective of what happens with COVID-19, we will likely see all remote working numbers increase, even after the pandemic settles down. For this reason, it is important that we prepare now for the possibility that working from home may become the norm. Many businesses are moving their workforce remotely and giving up their expensive leases on commercial buildings. Now that we have a taste for the benefits, it is reported that 73% of all teams will feature a level of remote work by 2028.
With this being the case, how are you set up to work from home? Join us in our next blog for some tips on working from home without an office!
