Returning to the office? Over HALF of millennials are not

Rishi Sunak is rallying Britons to return to the office as soon as the Government’s work from home guidance lifts, declaring it “really important” for younger staff who are currently operating remotely via Zoom at the beginning of their careers. Yet amidst record-high unemployment levels, a recession and the pandemic – data from Future Strategy Club reveals millennials do not want to return to a traditional 9-5 role, say 57% of 18–24-year-olds and 53% of 25–34-year-olds.

COVID-19 has been the great disruptor of work, with the lockdown providing a forced career hiatus for many millennials who went from the traditional work schedule to flexible working practices. This period of freedom has given them a chance to re-evaluate priorities, and now many are turning their backs on the nine to five.

If firms want to attract and retain young talent, they must make the office more appealing to the millennial workforce. This means more than short-term solutions and office perks, but balancing the external environment – from new government guidelines to a rise in COVID-19 cases – with an internal strategy that puts employees needs first and foremost, from flexible hours to creating a workplace with purpose.

Justin would also be well placed to offer commentary on:

How to encourage young people back to the office
Retaining the best talent within the workplace
How businesses can utilise freelance talent post-pandemic
Business survival post-pandemic with outside expertise

Justin Small, CEO of Future Strategy Club, discusses how firms can support and encourage young people to return to the office:

“Despite Sunak telling workers to “get back to the office”, 57% of the millennial workforce do not want to return to a corporate 9-5 role post-pandemic. As our most talented young professionals decide not to return, firms will face a talent crisis and run the risk of losing their competitive edge because of it. This means it is now essential that the UK workforce becomes more enticing for its employees.

Yet short-term solutions and office perks are simply not enough to encourage young people back to the office, with the benefit of these perks often short-lived. What really matters in a firm is cultivating a culture of innovation and autonomy – this is the key to preserving employees well-being post-pandemic and retaining your best talent.

How should firms plan ahead in a continuously disrupted world? How can they be certain the decisions they are making now will be right in the next few months, let alone the next few years? Firms right now cannot predict the future, but they can look forwards and shape it. Now, businesses can source creative freelancers who are unphased by the acute challenges in how we are doing business today. This will not only enrich a team and drive fresh results, but help businesses recalibrate and survive the effects of the Covid pandemic.”