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Workers in UK are the most reluctant to return to the office

A survey of 8,000 adults from eight countries saw British employees display the highest level of apathy towards returning to the workplace, alongside the US - Bloomberg
A survey of 8,000 adults from eight countries saw British employees display the highest level of apathy towards returning to the workplace, alongside the US - Bloomberg

Workers in the UK are the most reluctant to return to the office, a new report has found.

A survey of 8,000 adults from eight countries saw British employees display the highest level of apathy towards returning to the workplace, alongside the US.

Their reluctance to go back to the office is largely driven by fears of a second wave, rather than enjoyment of the home-working lifestyle, the analysis by ManpowerGroup suggests.

It is thought that the divergence in attitude in the UK and US, compared to counterparts in Germany, France, Italy, Mexico, Singapore and Spain, could also be explained by the two countries experiencing a higher death toll which hit at a later stage.

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While 73 per cent of the workforce have negative feelings about returning to the workplace in both the UK and US, only 54 per cent say the same in Germany and 56 per cent in Italy, as shown below.

Similarly, 69 per cent of German employees reported positive feelings about being back in the office - compared to just 48 per cent of UK employees.

The top concerns about a return to old working patterns were rooted in health, with UK staff most worried about a second wave, getting sick and infecting their families.

A far smaller proportion - 21 per cent - were worried about losing the practical advantages of remote working, such as wasting time commuting and having less flexibility.

Leesman, the workplace research group, said its own research of 120,000 employees worldwide found that UK workers were among the least experienced with home working entering into lockdown.

Around 76 per cent of Belgian workers had experience of remote working before the crisis, compared to only 44 per cent in Britain.

Tim Oldman, the chief executive of Leesman told the Telegraph, said: “It may be that we are still enjoying the novelty factor, because our technology is supporting us and certain things the home is supporting better than any office - such as business confidential conversations.

“The overall picture in the UK is one of home supporting work really well and some incredibly well, but it is also worth saying that between 20 and 30 per cent of the working population home is not supporting work at all well.

“Work-life balance is another really interesting one, because a year ago people would have been saying the more you allow an employee to work from home the better they can command a work-life balance - but it’s at the bottom of the league table in almost every client survey we report back on.”

It comes after Britain’s biggest businesses tell staff they can work from home until 2021, despite the Government’s ‘back to work’ campaign to boost the economy.

More than 20 of the largest companies in the country have said that the majority of their employees will continue to work from home and will do so for the “foreseeable” future.

Schroders, the fund manager, this month became the first major London institution to tell thousands of staff they can continue to work from home after the pandemic.

Chris Gray, the UK director of ManpowerGroup, said: “Many offices across the UK have returned throughout the summer, in slightly less capacity than before, but we’re hearing every day that people are keen to get back in some way to the workplace.

“What is key for employers is to find the balance and not paint all employees with a broad-brush; just as many individuals who want more remote working would like it with the option of a physical workplace a few days a week.”