According to a new report from O2 Business titled The Flexible Future of Work, 45% of Brits expect there to be a permanent change in how their employers approach flexible work arrangements after the pandemic.
The report has also found that employees will be reluctant to give up how they work, with 81% stating that they expect to increase the amount they work from home by at least one day a week.
Around two-third of employees live within 30 minutes of their workplace, but according to ICM, if remote working was more readily available, more employees would be willing to live up to an hour from their workplace. This means that competition for top talent could intensify as location is no longer a factor in the hiring process.
If remote working was more available, 41% of city dwellers would move out to rural locations such as seaside towns and countrysides.
“The UK has a huge challenge with the geographic distribution of wealth, and this exaggerates the problem of overpopulation in cities,” said Dr. Heejung Chung, Reader in Sociology and Social Policy Director at the University of Kent. “If people could work from wherever they want to, without any fear of career penalty, this would create a huge opportunity for everyone.”
