At the end of March 2020, the government advised employees to work from home if they can and as such in April 2020, the Office of National Statistics reported that 46.6% of the UK workforce were doing so.
Covid-19 has proved undoubtedly the importance of technology, with the majority of offices and even call centres being able to run as normal from homes up and down the country.
Employees have embraced the world of zoom and home working and whilst some have struggled with a remote way of life, there’s no doubt the work-life balanced has improved for many thanks to this new way of working. Employers have also seen huge benefits from the shift, with those previously critical of working-from-home employees now seeing that flexible and homeworking requests may be easier to accommodate than they first thought.
Geography is no longer a burden, meaning employers can attract top talent regardless of psychical location. Not being tied to expensive city centre offices also mean that overall bills and rent can be dramatically reduced.
For some, the return to the office will be a welcome move when the time comes. High Street coffee shops and those craving company or living in poor conditions are sure to be struggling in these testing times, but with the undeniable evidence of an effective workforce with reduced costs, higher talent pool and better home/work balances, a large number of employers are expected to continue with home-working in some form indefinitely.
Here at Marsh, we have seen an influx of those seeking virtual office as previous traditional office leases expire and we do expect this trend to continue.