The COVID-19 Office Working Habits Survey was designed to get a better understanding of people’s experiences of working from home, and how it has changed attitudes to offices and shared workspaces.
Specifically, we looked at whether the Coronavirus pandemic is creating a cultural shift towards remote working, and how office workers themselves feel about these changes, including:
• What support employers are giving staff working at home
• How people’s home office set-ups compare with their main (employer) office
• Which working patterns employees would ideally choose
• The safety measures needed to make people feel comfortable returning to work
• How people expect to split their time between the home and office in the future
• Differences between demographics
2. 353 office workers
responded to a survey
answering questions
about their working habits
and experiences:
• Pre COVID-19
• Current working
patterns
• Future working patterns
Summary
3. • How people’s home office set-up compares with their
main (employer) office set-up.
• What support are employers giving their staff who are
working at home?
• What safety measures need to be in place for people to
feel comfortable to return to the office?
• How will people split their time between working
remotely and the office in the future?
• What working patterns would employees ideally choose?
• What activities will people primarily use the office for in
the future?
• Whether there are any demographics that affect their
views?
Specifically, wewantedtofindout:
Objectives
6. • Over 2/5ths (42.8%) do not have a dedicated workspace
at home. This is more than double the amount who do
not have a dedicated space in the main office (20%).
• The age group most likely to have their own workspace
at home is age 50+ (61.5%) with 30-39 year olds being the
least likely (54.3%).*
• 60% of people working from home only use one screen,
compared with 43% of people working from the office.
• The number of people using sit-stand desks is still low
overall, especially at home (16%) compared with at the
office (26%).
• Nearly 1/3rd (31%) of people have an ergonomic chair at
home compared with 2/3rds (66%) at the office.
• People with school age children are less likely to have a
dedicated workspace at home (37% compared with an
average of 57%).
Key findings
Home office vs main office
Conclusion
In general, employees currently
have access to better working
equipment in the main office
than they do at home.
*For a breakdown of age categories, please refer to
the pie chart in the Demographics section later in
this document.
8. WFH experience compared to office
8.8
8.3
7.2
4.8
14.3
20.7
14
10
9.2
9.9
9.1
20.4
18.5
32.8
27.8
20.7
24
25.2
27.1
26.5
28.4
30.4
24
20.7
31.6
22.5
27.5
34.1
28.6
13
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
I have fewer interruptions (%) I am more productive (%) I feel supported by my manager (%) I have the technology I need (%) I work longer hours (%) I feel isolated (%)
WFH compared to working from the office
1 = strongly disagree, 5 = strongly agree
1 2 3 4 5
9. • The majority of people have fewer interruptions working
from home (58%). However, just over 1/5th (22.8%) say
they are interrupted more often.
• Nearly 1/3rd (32%) of people think they are equally
productive working from the home or the office, with
almost half (49%) saying they are more productive. The
remaining 28.3% are less productive.
• Over half (55.9%) agree or strongly agreed that they feel
supported by their manager.
• Technology doesn’t generally seem to be a big issue,
with most people (85.2%) at least moderately agreeing
(3-5) they have the technology they need at home.
• Around 1/3rd (33.7%) agree that they feel isolated WFH.
• Over half of people (52.6%) work longer hours at home.
Key findings
WFH experience compared to office
Conclusion
WFH is good for getting work
done uninterrupted, but there is
a risk that people can feel
isolated and unsupported if
they WFH exclusively. There is
also a tendency to work longer
hours at home, so employers
need to be mindful of mental
health and issues caused by
poor ergonomics.
10. To what extent are
employers financially
contributing to the
home office set-up of
their employees?
11. Employer contributions to home office
66
21
7
4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
No Yes Not yet but they will No and they are not going to
Has your employer contributed financially to your home office set-up?
Percentage
12. • So far 2/3rds (66%) of employers have not contributed
financially to the cost of the home office.
• Just over a quarter (28%) of employers have either
already contributed or said they are going to do so.
Key findings
Conclusion
If employers expect their staff to
work remotely in the future,
they need to consider investing
in suitable home office
equipment and virtual
ergonomics assessments.
Employer contributions to home office
14. When do you expect to return to the office?
27.6
25.6
22.4
11.4
7.4
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Still don't know From Jan 2021 Already gone back I never left I will not be returning
When do you expect to return to the office
(assuming local restrictions are lifted)?
Percentage
15. • Over a quarter (27.6%) of people still don’t know when
they will be returning to the office.
• Just over a quarter (25.6%) expect to return from January
2021.
• Over 1/5th of employees (22.4%) have already returned to
the office.
• A small percentage (7.4%) will not be returning at all.
Key findings
Conclusion
Most people have still not
returned to the office and the
majority will return in 2021. In
many cases there is still a lot of
uncertainty about exactly when
this will be.
When do you expect to return to the office?
17. Safety measures for returning to work?
55
52
50
47
40
27
26
26
22
21
15
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Hand sanitiser available
Socially distanced workspaces
Daily cleaning
Limits on no of people in common areas
Strict policies on staff sickness
One way systems
Appropriate signage
Staggered start and finish times
Daily temperature checks
None needed
Nothing would make me feel comfortable
What safety measures need to be in place for employees to feel safe to return?
18. • Over half of workers expect workspaces to be socially
distanced (52%).
• Only 1/5th of workers feel comfortable returning if there
are no safety measures in place (21%).
• There are still a small proportion of employees who do
not feel comfortable returning, regardless of safety
measures (15%).
• The vast majority of employees (64%) expect some kind
of safety measures in place before they will return.
Key findings
Conclusion
Employers must ensure plenty
of safety measures are in place
for the majority of employees to
feel comfortable going in to the
office.
Safety measures for returning to work?
20. Current vs future working patterns?
54
12
10
15
0
3
12
19
23 22 22
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
WFH full time Once a week or less 2-3 days a week 4-5 days a week Unsure Rota system
Current vs future
working patterns
Currently (%) In future (%)
21. • Over half of workers are still working from home full time
(54%).
• Over 1/5th of workers are still unsure of how their
working patterns will be in the future (22%).
• In the future, only just over 1/5th of workers currently
expect to be in the office 4-5 days a week (22%).
• Prior to COVID, over three quarters of workers (78%)
either worked in the office most or all of the time (3+
days).
Key findings
Conclusion
Post COVID, there will be a
trend towards more people
working remotely, at least some
of the week, than there was
before.
Current vs future working patterns?
22. How do employees
ideal working patterns
compare with the way
their employers expect
them to work?
23. Future working vs ideal working patterns?
12.1
19
23.6
22.7 22.7
21.5
26.4
37.2
10.3
4.6
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Stay working at home Once a week or less 2-3 days a week 4-5 days a week Unsure
How do expected future working patterns compare with how employees would
like to work if they had the choice?
Future working pattern (%) Ideal working pattern (%)
24. • Only one in ten people (10.3%) would choose to work in
the office 4-5 days a week, although more than 1/5
(22.7%) will be expected to.
• Almost half (47.9%) of people would choose to either
WFH full time or go in the office less than once a week.
However, a very similar number (47.5%) would like to be
in the office at least 2 days a week.
• Just over 1/5th of people (21.5%) would like to WFH full
time although only 12.1% expect to do so.
• Prior to COVID, nearly eight out of ten people (78.7%)
went into the office at least 3 days a week. Post COVID
the expectations for working in the office are much
lower (46.3% currently expect to work in the office 2+
days).
Key findings
Conclusion
There is a disconnect between
what employers expect and
how employees want to work.
The majority of people want a
balance between WFH and
office.
Future working vs ideal working patterns?
26. Why will people use the office in future?
46.9
46.9
37.2
30.4
24.4
16.5
11.4
10.8
6.2
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Collaborating
Meetings
Social
Everyday work
Better equipment
Quiet time/focus
Better technology
More space
Other
Top reasons why employees will use the office in the future
% of responses
27. • The top three reasons* for people using the office in the
future are all social reasons.
• Almost a quarter (24.4%) of employees cited better
equipment as a reason for going in, which correlates with
the earlier findings that people’s home set-ups are not as
good as the office.
• Only 10.8% chose space as one of their top three reasons,
suggesting that the majority of people don’t see lack of
space at home as a primary issue. There is a similar
finding with technology (11.4%).
• A fairly significant number chose quiet time/focus
amongst their top 3 reasons for going to the office (16.5%)
Key findings
Conclusion
Humans are social creatures
and offices should facilitate
social interaction. It’s also
important to include quiet areas
where people can focus and
work independently.
*Respondents were only given the option to select their top 3 reasons
Why will people use the office in future?
29. Demographics
51
17.6
31.4
Company size
Over 250 employees
50-250 employees
Under 50 employees
36.6
25.3
23
15.1
Seniority
Entry Level Mid-level Management
Team Leader Senior Management
1.7
19.3
19.9
31.8
27.3
Age Group
Prefer not to say
18-29
30-39
40 - 49
50+
Sample size: 353 workers
30. • There is a low correlation between age group and
whether they have their own workspace. The over 50s
are more likely to have a dedicated workspace than any
other age group.
• As you might expect, there is a tendency for middle and
senior management to work longer hours than more
junior staff.
• There is a minimal correlation between age group and
level of isolation. However, there is a very small
correlation between feeling less isolated the more senior
the role.
• There is minimal correlation between the size of the
organisation and willingness to invest in home office
equipment.
Observations:
Conclusion
Lack of investment in home
office equipment is an issue for
companies of all sizes.
Employers need to find ways to
ensure their staff don’t feel
isolated, especially more junior
staff.
Demographics (Total size of sample: 353 people)
32. • There is a small correlation between commuting times
and the desire to work from home. However, this is not
the main driver for their decision.
• Nearly 2/3rds of respondents commuted by car. Car users
are proportionally slightly more likely to wish to work in
the office for at least some of the week than those who
use other modes of transport, but the difference is
minimal.
Observations:
Conclusion
The desire to split working time
between the home and the
office remains strong,
regardless of commuting time
or mode of transport used.
Demographics (Total size of sample: 353 people)
34. • Many people are still uncertain about when
they will return to the workplace. However, in
the UK it looks like, for the majority of people,
this will be some time in the New Year (2021).
• There is also still uncertainty about exactly
how people will spend time between the
office and remote working. However, it is
clear that in the future, people will spend
more time working remotely than they did
pre-COVID - and employers will need to
make provisions for this.
• Most people prefer to work from home
some of the time and feel they are more
productive. However, in general they want a
balance and see the office as being especially
valuable for face-to-face communications
such as such as meetings and collaboration
with colleagues.
• The majority of people will only feel
comfortable going into the workplace if
safety measures are put into place,
including socially distanced workspaces.
• The feeling of isolation and working longer
hours (therefore risking burning out) are
two potential risks of working from home.
Employers need to ensure processes are in
place to minimise these risks.
• With people working increased hours from
home, ergonomics has never been more
important. There is currently no legislation
to govern home office set-up, assessment
or equipment. Employers should consider
conducting virtual ergonomic assessments
to identify and address risks.
Conclusion
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