As the UK begins to reopen society in a bid to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, the future of traditional working is still in question. 

The vast majority of businesses have had to adjust to a different way of working for over a year, introducing remote technologies to communicate, collaborate and conduct day-to-day activities. Having the physical presence of colleagues was not an option as the UK imposed a lengthy national lockdown; and with no other option, the UK workforce began to experience the conveniency of working remotely. 

Along with the conveniency, also came frustration. For those not so tech-savvy, adjusting to communication via platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams was met with frustration. There are certainly perks to working remotely, but how much longer can the work-from-home initiative (in the long term at least) be an option?  

According to HR News, only 7 percent of professionals are in favour of returning the office full time. 

Research that was conducted by TopCV, also found that 54% of UK professionals found that their work lives had improved, due to flexibility in their work schedule. 45% of respondents stated that flexibility in their working hours was the main reason for this.

As wellbeing and mental health has been a worry for the nation during the pandemic; and respondents claimed that as their work lives improved, so did their mental health. 24 percent of respondents stated that the additional hours gained from less working hours meant they could focus on their mental health, amongst other activities.

As business and digital leaders ponder on what direction to move in post-pandemic, there have been some mumblings of the possibility of a four-day working week. 14 percent of professionals hope their employers implement a four-day working week in the near future. 

Intrigued by the gatherings from TopCV, Blu Digital conduct a poll to get thoughts of their audience on LinkedIn – with the question:

“Do you prefer working in the office, at home or would you like to see a mixture of both? Perhaps the introduction of 4-day working weeks?”

The poll concluded with a total of 953 votes. The options and results  were the following: 

• Working from home (35%)
• Working in the office (4%)
• A mixture of both (61%)

Although many of the respondents were in favour of working from home permanently post-pandemic (35%), the majority of respondents prefer a healthy mixture of both in-office and working remotely. 

As the UK aims to reopen society and steadily recover the economy; workers are being encouraged to return to the (Covid secure) office – will employers come under pressure to impose flexible working permanently? 

Poll: https://bit.ly/3cwUwsW