Over a third (35%) of UK workers are willing to take a pay cut to work remotely permanently revealed research by Reed.co.uk, a UK jobs and careers site.
The researched canvassed 2,000 full or part-time employed workers and aimed to explore post-pandemic employee preferences and sentiment towards flexible working. It confirmed the strength of opinion in favour of remote working, with almost one in five workers (19%) believing their employer is not flexible enough with 17% of those surveyed saying their employer is too flexible. This implies that these respondents would prefer to be in the office more than they’re currently being offered.
The number of workers (36%) who believe their employer is not providing a fair balance between remote and office working is equal to the number of workers (37%) who say that their employer has got it “just right”. The findings indicated a clear divide between workers in their post-pandemic working preferences.
These differences are exacerbated among different demographics with 32% of workers aged between 18 and 34 wanting more office-based work, compared to less than 10% of over 45s. Results also revealed that men (21%) are more likely than women (12%) to feel that their employer is too flexible and workers 31% of workers in London wanting to work in the office compared with 9% in Yorkshire.
Flexible working is creating further tensions in the workplace when it comes to wages and career opportunities with over a quarter (26%) of respondents feeling that full-time office workers should be paid more than those working from home. Twenty-three percent of respondents said that full-time office-based workers should be prioritised for promotion over full-time remote workers, while over a third (37%) said that those working in the office should receive more perks.
Simon Wingate, Managing Director of Reed.co.uk, commented: “While flexible working can seem like an impossible challenge to get right, the key thing is to ensure employees have a certain level of choice and autonomy over how, when and where they spend their working day – keeping in mind the fact that what works for one group of people won’t necessarily work for another.
“In a competitive labour market, businesses must think creatively and listen carefully to their staff to provide a tailored approach that works on both an individual and collective level. This will help to improve their chances of attracting and retaining the best talent.”
