84% of university-aged students say they would take less pay to be able to have a remote job
LONDON, ENGLAND — UK employers have to decide now where they want their organizations to be in the next few years as the next generation about to join the workforce has indicated a strong preference for remote jobs.
Towards the beginning of 2022, dozens of UK companies began ushering their employees to return to physical, in-person offices.
The next generation that is about to join the UK workforce has indicated they would accept lower pay to be able to work remotely.
Many even began suggesting pay cuts for remote workers or, in more extreme cases, threatening to lay off any employee who did not return to the pre-pandemic way of working.
However, the region is now facing an intense labour crisis that has made some employers even turn to hiring foreign workers to fill the dire gaps in their workforce.
Now, employers that took a hard-nosed stance against remote work may have to seriously reconsider their position if they want to be successful in the future.
Amid a labour crisis and a workforce that is steadily aging, the bright young talents about to enter the labour market have made it quite clear that few of them expect to work traditional, in-person, 9-5 jobs.
84% prefer remote jobs over higher salary
According to a Velocity Global study of 500 university-aged adults in the UK, the young soon-to-be-workers “embrace remote work in their career transition plans”.
The University to Career Survey found that 72 per cent of respondents were “somewhat or extremely likely to consider a job that is entirely remote”.
Even further, a massive 84 per cent of those students said they would “consider taking less money for their job if it allowed a remote option”.
The Velocity Global University to Career Survey has indicated that most university-aged adults in the UK do not plan to ever hold traditional, in-person jobs.
Only half of the incoming workforce said they plan to hold traditional jobs, while only 24 per cent said they expect to ever hold that kind of traditional, in-person office job.
The number of young Brits who said they would want to work in a physical office during the standard five-day work week dwindled even further, with just 16 per cent of the students surveyed preferring this option.
These findings highlight that UK employers should be moving towards embracing and implementing some form of remote work if they have not done so already. Failing to do so could result in an even greater challenge with finding appropriate workers to fill vacancies.
It could also mean severe losses when it comes to attracting and retaining the top talent in the field. Those workers would be in the best position to select the company that is most in-tune with their preferences.
If the Velocity Global study is any indication, that means those companies who shun remote work could find themselves at the bottom of the labour barrel.
Find the latest remote jobs in the UK via Remote Worker.
References:
Velocity Global University to Career Survey