Majority of UK Businesses to Scrap Working from Home post-Covid

In an article circulated in City AM, written by Poppy Wood, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has released figures showing that more than two-thirds of UK businesses plan to scrap working from home beyond the pandemic.  In fact, 67 per cent of more than 24,500 British businesses surveyed said they do not intend to keep homeworking as a permanent business model in the future.

Just 19 per cent said they intended to ditch office space and incorporate working from home into their permanent business model, while 15 per cent were not sure.
Businesses relying on physical labour across the hospitality, transport and construction sectors said they were least likely to introduce working from home as an enduring option.

Meanwhile, around half of British companies in the arts sector and 60 per cent of admin firms said they would scrap the option, with one in 10 UK businesses saying it deteriorated communication between staff.

It comes as top industry figures have warned that working from home has caused a spike in stress, anxiety and burnout amongst employees.
A report released yesterday by US tech giant Oracle and HR firm Workplace Intelligence found that 2020 has been the most stressful year in history for the global workforce, with more than four-fifths of employees saying stress at work was affecting their home life.

Earlier this year, Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said workers around the world are missing out on “all the connections we usually have” in the office and urged companies to adopt a “grounded approach” to flexible working in the future.

Croydon is still a relatively inexpensive place for anyone seeking rented office space and within our building at Weatherill House Enterprise Centre we have found that some of our licensees are rotating staff or taking an additional office in order to keep within the social distancing guidelines.  Our premises are Covid-19 compliant and we have implemented rotational sanitising of the touchpoints in public areas together with temperature testing upon entry.

In addition, we have very fast broadband (200 mbps up and down) and CQC compatibility.

Our office units are perfect for anyone in need of a satellite hub, planning to downsize or finding it unbearable working from home.

We would encourage anyone seeking office accommodation to speak to us as we have a number of affordable options available including a co-working area for customers who are interested in a non-contractual pay-as-you-go facility.

Call us on 0203 7474747 for office enquiries and bookings.