British workers are leading the world in refusing to return to the office, despite a push by ministers to kickstart the commuter economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
New figures show the UK now tops the table of nations where workers would rather quit or find a new job than return to the office five days a week.
Women are said to the ones leading the so-called ‘flexidus’ of staff demanding a mixture remote and in-office working, with 52 per cent admitting they have left or have considered leaving their jobs of a ‘lack of flexibility’.
It comes as the founder of one of Britain’s largest mobile retailers today warned that work from home culture could spell ‘catastrophe’ for the British economy.
Phones4U creator John Caudwell today added his name to the list of experienced entrepreneurs warning of a lasting impact of remote working on British businesses.
He also slammed a ‘growing sense of entitlement on the part of workers’ who he said believed who believe that jobs ‘exist for their own convenience rather than to serve customers or the public’.
His comments come as ministers and civil servants continue to lock horns over plans to force them back into the office following the lifting of all Covid restrictions in the UK.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week said cutting down on remote working would boost productivity and revive the UK’s town and city centres.
But unions say they will ‘resist indiscriminate demands from the Government for civil servants’ return to office-based working’, arguing that staff can work efficiently from home and that ‘work is no longer a place, but what is done’.
New figures show the UK now tops the table of nations where workers would rather quit or find a new job than return to the office five days a week
Other data by WFH Research, which is run by a number of US universities, including Stanford, showed how Britons on average desire to work around two days a week at home. This is roughly in line with the number of days those surveyed told WFH Research they currently work at home – around 1.93 days on average.
Britain’s WFH hotspots: The areas where companies are letting staff work from home most
Britons who want to work from home should get jobs in seaside towns such as Worthing, Southend and Bournemouth, according to newly analysed figures
The areas where companies are letting staff work from home most, with Worthing, Stoke and Burnley among the towns topping the list of so-called ‘Zoom hotspots’.
New figures show how the West Sussex seaside town of Worthing has seen a 650 per cent rise in jobs postings with remote working on offer since the first Covid lockdown.
Figures also show a huge increase in the number of ‘flexible working’ positions in the city of Dundee, east Scotland, where job postings have increased by 319 per cent.
The former booming industrial town of Burnley has also seen a 391 per cent rise increase in work from home job posts between March 2020 and March this year.
Stoke-on-Trent, best known as the home of England’s pottery industry, finished third with a 323 per cent increase in postings with remote working in the last two years.
Meanwhile port and seaside towns that featured consistently in the top 25, with Southend (320 per cent) Plymouth (308 per cent) and Bournemouth (268 per cent) all among the list.
The analysis, carried out by online meeting place Zoom and jobs site Indeed, comes amid a growing row over the future of work from home – which became the default position during the first Covid lockdown in March 2020.
As the raging row continued, new figures published by Work From Home Research (WFH Research) has revealed how Britons are most likely to leave their jobs if told to return to the office five days a week.
The survey, involving 33,000 people from across the world, shows how 23 per cent of British workers say they would rather quit or start looking for new job rather than go back to the office.
That puts Britain above every other nation included in the survey, including the US (14.8 per cent), Russia (15.7 per cent) and China (8 per cent).
In terms of Europe only Hungry (20 per cent) and the Netherlands (19.6 per cent) came closest, while Britain was significantly ahead of France (11.9 per cent), Germany (14.8 per cent) and Italy (11.9 per cent) and the world-wide average of 14.58 per cent.
Meanwhile, other data by WFH Research, which is run by a number of US universities, including Stanford, showed how Britons on average desire to work around two days a week at home.
This is roughly in line with the number of days those surveyed told WFH Research they currently work at home – around 1.93 days on average.
That puts the UK above the world average of 1.43 days, but behind Singapore, where people work on average 2.4 days per week at home, as well as Malaysia, at 2.1 days,Australia, at 1.97 days a week, and Canada, at 1.93 days per week.
The continued work from home culture is also clear from Google Mobility data. Figures from February 2020 to May this year shows how journeys to the workplace are down more than 20 per cent still when compared to pre-pandemic levels.
This is more than any other country, including the US, Canada, France, Spain and Germany.
Meanwhile, new research from Linkedin shows 52% of women surveyed saying that they’ve considered leaving, or have left, a role because of lack of flexibility.
Almost a quarter (23%) of women said are more likely to leave their role since their employers started enforcing back to office policies and nearly two in five (37%) said they felt like progress made on flexible working during the pandemic is being lost.
Of those whose workplaces haven’t gone fully remote, two in five (39%) of UK professionals surveyed say that they are now expected in the office four or five days per week.
Meanwhile a quarter (25%) say that their employer has put set office days in place, which makes juggling home life more difficult.
Charlotte Davies, Career Expert at LinkedIn, said their research showed how women wanted to work flexibly, while Molly Johnson-Jones, Founder of Flexa Careers, said working from home was a huge step towards ‘geneder equality at work’
She added: ‘It is crucial that flexible working is accessible to everyone, as we shouldn’t have to justify our need for this based on gender.
‘Companies that offer flexible working to all, without request processes requiring individuals to state the ‘need’ for it, are the ones that are creating true equity in the workplace.’
However their comments come amid a push by business chiefs to get people back into the office. Today entrepreneur John Caudwell condemned working from home as a ‘catastrophe for the British economy’.
The continued work from home culture is also clear from Google Mobility data. Figures from February 2020 to May this year shows how journeys to the workplace are down more than 20 per cent still when compared to pre-pandemic levels. This is more than any other country, including the US, Canada, France, Spain and Germany
Speaking about a rift between ministers and civil servants over plans to cut back on working from home, The Phones4U founder told the Daily Mail: ‘(There is a) growing sense of entitlement on the part of workers who believe that jobs exist for their own convenience rather than to serve customers or the public.
‘The sheer scale of the epidemic of inefficiency sweeping the country means Boris Johnson’s plans to tackle the overstaffed public sector by taking a knife to more than 90,000 civil service jobs in line with pre-pandemic levels is hugely welcome.
‘Instead of civil service staff being spread out remotely at home, they need to be based centrally in an office where there are people ready to answer the phone to handle queries promptly.’
Speaking on his own views on working from home, he said: ‘I’m not against certain people working from home, but I’m against the overall culture that says everybody works from home.
‘Some people are extremely diligent and can trusted. I’ve got some of my staff working from home now, which I wouldn’t have done years ago.
‘I trust them and believe in them, and the office doesn’t lose anything by them not being there. Unfortunately, others are not conscientious in the least and will take everything they can get. Perhaps we in Britain have got too comfortable.’
His comments come after businessman and The Apprentice star Lord Alan Sugar also took aim at working from home culture.
Writing in the Mail, he said: ‘Before Covid hit, the default position was that workers went to work. People are the lifeblood of every business — that shouldn’t just be a corporate slogan, but a reality.
Today entrepreneur John Caudwell (pictured left) condemned working from home as a ‘catastrophe for the British economy’. The Apprentice star Lord Alan Sugar (pictured right) also took aim at working from home culture
‘However, the pandemic has unleashed a workshy, entitled culture in which people demand — and are allowed — to work from home.
‘I’m horrified by stories of bosses struggling to get their staff back to their desks, only to be met with point-blank refusal.
‘And with the economic news as grim as it is — inflation soaring, growth stalling and interest rates going through the roof — we need everyone to pull together and put their shoulders to the wheel, working as a team, not in individual bubbles.
‘It worries me enormously that we are producing a generation of young people who think that working from home is their right.
‘And this is having a catastrophic effect on business. A digital advertising company in which I have a financial interest is doing extremely well, but it can’t get the staff. There are desks for 70 people but only 15 are occupied.’
‘A catastrophe for the British economy’: Entrepreneur and philanthropist JOHN CAUDWELL condemns WFH culture as an ‘epidemic of inefficiency sweeping the country’ as he demands civil servants get back to their desks
By John Caudwell for the Daily Mail
Up and down the country, large parts of life are not functioning as they should, causing enormous frustration as we carry out our daily tasks.
From delays of as much of three months for renewing a passport or driving licence to finding it impossible to speak to a human to pay a bill or make a complaint, the pandemic has left a trail of destruction that Britain is still reeling from.
And I’m sorry to say, this situation seems to suits some people rather well.
Part of the problem is the continuing trend for working from home, which some see as an absolute windfall that allows them to walk the dog, have a long lunch, look after the children and still collect full pay.
But there is something else, too: a growing sense of entitlement on the part of workers who believe that jobs exist for their own convenience rather than to serve customers or the public.
And it is the civil service who particularly benefit from this privilege of convenience.
Whitehall workers enjoy job security and generous pensions – and all for hours that allow them to clock off at five o’clock.
But while customers can hold private companies to account for sloppy service by simply going elsewhere, they have no such option for the Government departments that run essential parts of their daily lives.
Worse, their taxes pay the wages of our enormous public sector workforce, leading to a growing sense of resentment when they are put on hold for the umpteenth time – or simply don’t get put through to a human on the phone at all.
The sheer scale of the epidemic of inefficiency sweeping the country means Boris Johnson’s plans to tackle the overstaffed public sector by taking a knife to more than 90,000 civil service jobs in line with pre-pandemic levels is hugely welcome.
Ministers have been calling on civil servants to return to the office as much as possible, in plans to end the WFH culture in Whitehall. File image
Faced with the current situation, where public sector jobs provide such a comfortable set-up, private businesses are struggling to hire staff.
I’ve experienced the same hurdle running my own businesses, too. Any time an employee has left my company for the public sector over the last 30 years, they hardly look back. The rewards and lifestyle on offer on the Government payroll are just too enticing.
Yet the service they deliver currently just doesn’t match.
Too many times, customers calling with a query are pushed onto online forms or, worse, instant messaging services run by automated chatbots.
Instead of civil service staff being spread out remotely at home, they need to be based centrally in an office where there are people ready to answer the phone to handle queries promptly.
But there is something else, too: a growing sense of entitlement on the part of workers who believe that jobs exist for their own convenience rather than to serve customers or the public. Pictured, an empty ministry office photographed by Jacob Rees-Mogg
In short, we need to provide the hard-pressed public with an efficient service that doesn’t cost them a penny more than they should be paying.
We’ve been here before, of course.
Looking back to the early days of my career, I used to be aggravated by the whole of Britain’s public services before Margaret Thatcher took charge.
Once in Number 10, she made it clear to the public service sector that they were there to deliver a friendly, polite and effective service.
She gave them targets and she transformed Britain into a culture where people who almost thought they were there to be objectionable to the public were suddenly reminded they were there to do a good job for them.
That’s what we all need to bear in mind – that civil servants need to strive to be the best that they can to give the rest of Britain a great service.
Having worked myself to the point of ill-health as I built my business empire, I wouldn’t advise anyone to put in the hours I used to, no matter how ambitious they are.
But I do advocate that people should do a conscientious strong day’s work, and they shouldn’t be looking at the clock and dashing off at five o’clock.
Reducing the number of civil servants is a good start to boosting productivity, because it creates an element of competition.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, minister for Brexit opportunities and government efficiency, has been vocal in the call to bring civil servants back into the office as much as possible
Perhaps some civil servants could get jobs in the private sector, and then everybody wins because the private sector needs more employees and can’t find them.
Such a rebalancing would be healthy for the whole economy.
After all, Britain is a business – and it should be run like one.
I’m not against certain people working from home, but I’m against the overall culture that says everybody works from home.
Some people are extremely diligent and can trusted. I’ve got some of my staff working from home now, which I wouldn’t have done years ago.
I trust them and believe in them, and the office doesn’t lose anything by them not being there.
Unfortunately, others are not conscientious in the least and will take everything they can get.
Perhaps we in Britain have got too comfortable.
But the cut and thrust of modern businesses, we all need to justify our living and our wages, and we need to put the effort in to do that.
Especially public sector workers, who are in a privileged position.
Now they need to perform and realise how well they are paid compared to lots of private businesses.
The civil service must not be overweight with costs that we, the public, have got to pay for.
And we need to get those people back to work to make sure it runs as it should.
We need a buoyant office culture because that’s where people learn from more experienced people; they’re soaking up knowledge and information.
There’s a huge amount of learning that takes place in the workshop by swapping ideas with peers, listening to the way problems are handled and observing body language at face to face meetings.
You simply can’t replicate that at home or worse, over Zoom, at all.
Those that can show their boss they can be trusted to work from home should be allowed to, because it’s commercial common sense.
But if there’s going to be any deterioration in efficiency and customer service, it should be prevented.
If everybody worked from home, it would be a catastrophe for the British economy.
The fee for this article has been donated to the Caudwell Children charity.
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