Member Article

South East businesses set to swap workspaces for more remote working post-pandemic

As the country takes its next step out of lockdown and some companies start to slowly open their doors to employees, new research from leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton UK LLP finds that just 5% of 603 mid-sized businesses surveyed believe that full time office working will be most effective for their people post-pandemic.

Almost half (44%) of the businesses surveyed believe that a shift towards more remote working, rather than office based, will be most effective. Of these, 37% believe that a blended approach, with more time spent working remotely than in an office, will be best for their business, while 7% say that full time remote working will be best for them.

A further 25% believe an even split between office and remote working will work best for their people.

Due to the changing ways of working expected post-pandemic, over half (51%) of the businesses surveyed also anticipate that their office or workspace will need to be repurposed.

The past year has resulted in a fundamental shift in many businesses operations, with many having to switch to complete remote working almost overnight. Of the businesses surveyed, 80% have seen an increase in home working over the last year.

While home working offers many benefits for companies, the businesses surveyed who have dealt with increased home working in the last year reported their top five people related concerns. These were led by managing the work of more junior employees (49%) and the provision of training (47%). Loss of culture (40%), lack of client-facing time (40%) and mental wellbeing (39%) also scored highly.

With mental wellbeing one of the top challenges stemming from remote working, it’s encouraging to see that over half (51%) of the businesses surveyed have increased their investment in wellbeing over the last year.

Three quarters (76%) of those surveyed are also set to invest more or the same amount into their employee wellbeing services over the next six months.

Many employees have had more flexibility than ever this year in not just where they work but also when, due to the blurring of lines between personal and work routines caused by the extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic.

But the research found that there is an emerging expectation gap in how employees want to work going forward, and the plans that mid-market businesses have for the future. Many of the businesses surveyed (62%) believe their employees will expect more flexible working options to continue post-pandemic.

Despite this, fewer (53%) of the businesses surveyed have plans to offer more flexible working arrangements post-pandemic. And 17% do not expect to offer any more flexibility.

John O’Mahony, the Gatwick-based practice leader for Grant Thornton in the South East, said: “We know that remote working will play a much bigger part than ever before. So the discussion now needs to move to how businesses will support this evolution. This will include understanding how work or office space may need repurposing and how employment policies will need adapting to better support the changing expectations of the workforce

“One of the key things businesses have learnt from the pandemic is that proactive engagement with their people is vital. It’s an ongoing conversation and no one has all the right answers yet, but businesses that fail to adapt and listen to the changing requirements of their people run the risk of losing talent to those that do.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sarah Jones .