Promoting remote work may help address UK’s labour shortage

Intense volcano of labour conditions presents employers with opportunity to give current and prospective staff what they want in an ideal job 

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM — Promoting more remote work or flexible work opportunities might be one way to help address the deepening labour shortage throughout the UK.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS), in its May 2022 statistical bulletin, reported an enormous amount of job vacancies as compared to the number of people who are unemployed.

Those findings essentially show that there are more jobs available than people to be hired for them, meaning that companies must be more competitive if they want to attract top talent over their competitors, especially now that the labour market is lacking.

Further, labour experts are noting that the employees currently in the workforce are no longer being swayed merely by salaries, instead desiring other job satisfaction elements. In fact, a recent study by Randstad UK found that most Brits would rather quit their jobs than work somewhere they were unhappy.

But in this intense volcano of labour conditions is the opportunity for employers to pay more attention to what their staff, and active jobseekers, want out of their work experience.

Additionally, this is their chance to find new ways to ensure workers are attracted to and satisfied enough to remain with their companies, and offering remote work opportunities or more flexibility is a sure-fire way to achieve that.

 

‘Remote work or no work’ 

Scores of studies on the impact of remote work have been undertaken since the onset of the pandemic, with the majority showing most Brits prefer to have at least some form of remote or flexible work made available to them in the future.

The opportunity to work remotely was such a significant decisive factor for workers that many vowed to quit their jobs rather than return to the traditional office.

In some high-profile instances, prominent workers in the United States did just that, with even megacorporation Apple losing a director over its attempt to force a return to physical offices.

Given the current labour climate here in the UK, employers cannot risk losing staff and should therefore capitalise on the opportunity to stand out from competitors through a proactive HR approach.

In instances where it’s possible, companies can accomplish precisely this by leveraging remote or home work opportunities that workers have shown a preference for. Even if just on a partial basis, it could make the difference between a highly desirable jobseeker choosing one organisation over its competition.

Find the latest opportunities to work remotely via Remote Worker.