Demand for office space and employment rise but return to normal hindered by old-fashioned working practices
Figures released today by the Office for National Statistics reveal that despite the end of the furlough scheme at the end of September, the number of people employed rose by 160,000 between September and October. Unemployment also fell 0.5 percentage points while figures from property agents indicated that the demand for office space in London increased significantly in Q3, rising by 54%.
However, while these figures paint a picture of a workforce increasingly getting back to ‘normal’, significant issues remain – with the ONS indicating that job to job moves are at a record high, driven by resignations, not dismissals. Consultancy and accounting disruptors, Theta Global Advisors reveal landmark research shows that more than half (51%) of British workers have worked better from home, and 41% believe a rush back to the office is a poor strategy choice on the part of their management teams.
A national study commissioned by Theta Global Advisors dissects the newly emotive measures that define productivity in the workplace that explain why companies should be delicate in their wooing employees back to the office through empathetic, flexible approaches:
Key Stats
· More than half (51%) of Brits agree that they have seen the quality of their work or their productivity improve due to increased employer empathy, flexibility, and working from home over the last year
· A quarter (25%) of Brits agree that despite working effectively over lockdown, their employer still doesn’t trust them to work flexibly or from home
· 57% of Brits say they are returning to the office with the worst mental health in their lifetimes *under 35s*
· 41% of workers in the UK agree that their employers are not managing correctly post-pandemic
· Over a quarter (27%) of Brits agree that a lack of empathy from their employers post-pandemic is resulting in their being less inclined to work hard for them
· 40% of Brits agree that given their experience over the last year, their employer forcing a strict return to pre-pandemic office norms would hinder their performance
(Research taken from a poll of 2,069 and nationally representative as per the British Polling council)
Chris Biggs, partner at Theta Global Advisors comments:
“Attitudes to the future of work have affirmatively shifted, and to ensure people are at their happiest and most productive, flexibility is needed in both where and when they work. Freedom from the office must also mean freedom to go to the office to account for different experiences, priorities, and conditions. New policies will account for substantial differentiations in employees’ experience of working during Covid-19. However, greater flexibility is still needed to account for different experiences and resources on a case-by-case basis. Working environments are looking like they will never return to what they were in 2019, changing very much for the better.
“As such, while employers may instinctively want to see their staff back in the office and for work to go ‘back to normal’ as soon as possible, this is not necessarily the strongest or most sensible approach. Working culture and expectations have changed, and if approached with empathy and flexibility, will result in a far happier, more productive workforce delivering work of a higher standard than before Covid-19. Employees have proven they can be effective when given flexible options or working from home, and employers need to respond to this with trust and structured flexibility approaches allowing employees to alter as necessary.”
