Post-pandemic productivity: A corridor of lockdowns defies productivity expectations in the UK

This week, the ONS revealed that, defying all expectations, output per hour has grown by 0.9% in the last year seeing productivity 0.5% higher than at the end of 2019. With gloomy predictions for the future of work, working culture, and productivity at the beginning of Covid-19, these figures are testament to the effectiveness of more flexible working structures, as adopted by many innovative, thought leading companies pre-pandemic.

This revelation comes as Boris Johnson has announced that advice to work from home will no longer be the Governmental stance from July 19th, and many business leaders call for a mass return to the office. However, landmark research from accounting and consultancy disruptor, Theta Global Advisors shows that legislative considerations for rights to work from home, and increased flexibility for employees may be more effective. 41% of workers in the UK report that their employers’ strategies to rush back to the office miss the mark, and will hinder their productivity at a time when their mental health is at its worst in their lifetimes.

A national study commissioned by consultancy and accounting disruptors, Theta Global Advisors, dissects the newly emotive measures that define productivity in the workplace that explain why companies should be delicate in their wooing employees back to the office through empathetic, flexible approaches:

Key Stats

· More than half (51%) of Brits agree that they have seen the quality of their work or their productivity improve due to increased employer empathy, flexibility, and working from home over the last year

· A quarter (25%) of Brits agree that despite working effectively over lockdown, their employer still doesn’t trust them to work flexibly or from home

· 57% of Brits say they are returning to the office with the worst mental health in their lifetimes *under 35s*

· 41% of workers in the UK agree that their employers are not managing correctly post-pandemic

· Over a quarter (27%) of Brits agree that a lack of empathy from their employers post-pandemic is resulting in their being less inclined to work hard for them

· 40% of Brits agree that given their experience over the last year, their employer forcing a strict return to pre-pandemic office norms would hinder their performance
(Research taken from a poll of 2,069 and nationally representative as per the British Polling council)

Theta’s research shows that at the beginning of the pandemic, more than a third (35%) of Brits stated that returning to traditional office environments would have a negative impact on their mental health and productivity. Now, a year later, this figure has increased to 40% as Brits have adapted and developed an understanding of how they can best work post-pandemic, setting out their expectations of employers more blatantly than ever.

Chris Biggs, partner at Theta Global Advisors has been leading by example at his firm. Theta provide flexible hours and hybrid working structures to their employees, allowing them to adapt on a case-by-case basis in order to be most productive, recognising the need for subjectivity for a happy and productive working environment.

​Chris comments on the need to apply empathy and flexibility when considering productivity post-pandemic and what employers must consider when returning to the office and their new working culture norms:

“Attitudes to the future of work have affirmatively shifted, and to ensure people are at their happiest and most productive, flexibility is needed in both where and when they work. Freedom from the office must also mean freedom to go to the office to account for different experiences, priorities, and conditions. New policies will account for substantial differentiations in employees’ experience of working during Covid-19. However, greater flexibility is still needed to account for different experiences and resources on a case-by-case basis. Working environments are looking like they will never return to what they were in 2019, changing very much for the better.

“As such, while employers may instinctively want to see their staff back in the office and for work to go ‘back to normal’ as soon as possible, this is not necessarily the strongest or most sensible approach. Working culture and expectations have changed, and if approached with empathy and flexibility, will result in a far happier, more productive workforce delivering work of a higher standard than before Covid-19. Employees have proven they can be effective when given flexible options or working from home, and employers need to respond to this with trust and structured flexibility approaches allowing employees to alter as necessary.”