Survey finds hybrid workers would rather quit than return to in person jobs.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — In the age of the “Great Resignation” where scores of workers around the world are opting to leave their jobs amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a majority of UK employees would rather quit than return to traditional in-person office jobs, according to a recent survey undertaken by Microsoft.
A report on the survey noted, “More than half (51 per cent) of UK workers who currently have the choice to mix remote and office working would consider leaving their company if this hybrid option was removed, according to new research by Microsoft in conjunction with YouGov, with fieldwork undertaken between October 7 and 15, 2021.
“For many employees, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed hybrid working from ‘nice to have’ to ‘must-have.’
“More than half (59 per cent) of HR decision makers (HRDMs) surveyed agree hybrid working has had a positive effect on the mental wellbeing of their workforce.”
Additionally, “The report found that the most pressing concerns identified by HRDMs in not having a hybrid working model were an inability to retain new talent (38 per cent), a negative impact on productivity (25 per cent), a negative impact on wellbeing (24 per cent), employee burnout (23 per cent) and keeping pace with competitors (23 per cent).”
Remote working option “here to stay”
The report posited that based on these findings, employers and employees can expect at least some option of working from home to last in the foreseeable future.
This is despite challenges HRDMs expressed with the process of getting new employees started in respective organisations (onboarding) when they are hired and begin working in a purely or mostly remote environment.
In summarising the survey’s findings, the report stated, “Clearly, then, hybrid working is here to stay, which means remote onboarding is too, albeit with perhaps more choice and less necessity as we move towards a post-pandemic future.
“The good news for both employees and employers is that over a third (37 per cent) of the HR decision makers surveyed who have onboarded new staff remotely claimed that although they find it challenging, they believe it is easily resolvable with the right technology solutions.”
Director of Modern Work Business Group at Microsoft UK Nick Hedderman added, “The pandemic has proven that organisations can trust their people to be productive wherever they are. They now have an opportunity to reshape work around individual roles, preferences and even personal lives.”
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Links
Microsoft research “Onboard not overboard” — https://news.microsoft.com/wp-content/uploads/prod/sites/68/2021/12/Hybrid-Work-research.pdf
