Home working is here to stay, despite government pleas, finds new HomeWorkingClub survey

A new survey from HomeWorkingClub has served to highlight the long-term nature of people’s commitment to working from home. The global home working portal reports that 37.80% of those who don’t currently work freelance or remotely plan to change their industry in the next year in order to do so. 29.13% of respondents also say that they would change employer in order to be able to work more from home.

It seems that those who can’t stay at home to stay safe with their current roles/employers are planning to take matters into their own hands. A report by academics at Cardiff and Southampton universities backs this up, finding that nine in ten of those who worked from home during lockdown want to carry on doing so in some form.

The backlash against returning to the office is being felt by employers large and small. Even the UK government is struggling to convince its civil servants of the merits of braving public transport and working from the office once more. All of which has major economic implications.

City centres on both sides of the Atlantic watched footfall crumble as a result of the pandemic. The longer-term absence of office workers is adding to the economic pain felt by everyone from restaurant and coffee shop chains to independent stores and charity shops.