RTO survey examines how businesses are adjusting their working policies and optimising in-person time for business performance.
- Changes to flexible working policies could come at a cost, as half of UK office workers are prepared to negotiate their compensation package if businesses ask them to come into the office more.
- Women report they are less satisfied with their flexible working arrangements, and feel they are less productive working in the office five days a week.
- Two thirds of business leaders are actively measuring the impact of their office working policy on productivity.
London, UK – Monday 24 February – A new report from Gett examining return-to-office trends reveals more than half of the UK’s office workers (55%) would be happy to go in five days a week, but it’s going to come at a cost…
When 2,000 office workers were asked how they would respond if they were mandated to come into office more, more than half said they would look to renegotiate their compensation package with their employer, and 1 in 4 would expect to be able to expense subsistence on office days.
The research also asked 500 business owners and senior leaders for their views; six in 10 said they’d consider renegotiations, and 47% said they would offer more flexible working hours so employees can avoid peak times.
The report also shines a light on a flexible working gender divide. When asked about changes to their working policies this year, 23% of men are being given more flexibility over when and where they work, compared to just 14% of women.
Despite a higher proportion of men believing their office working policy is “fair” – and expect an increase of flexibility – if required to come into the office more, men seem to be more confident in raising this with their employer to renegotiate their package (58%) compared to women (43%).
Rosie McKinnon, Gett’s Director for B2B, said: “While opinions around flexible working and ‘RTO’ continue to divide, our report reveals overall sentiment towards returning to the office is that it is better for individual and business performance.”
Over half of office workers conceded that they would be more productive if in the office five days a week; three quarters are saying that the office is better for collaboration and in fact, 77% believe their work suffers when they do not know their colleagues.
Business leaders felt strongly that a fully-remote team would see their profits suffer (71%), and six in 10 (64%) are actively measuring the impact of their office working policy on productivity.
It also emerged that of the business leaders and senior managers polled, almost a third (27%) now have employees in the office or workspace five days a week.
Compared to employees’ perceptions, only 31% included “complete freedom” over when and where they work, in their definition of “flexible working.”
Rosie McKinnon for Gett adds: “Our research shows that the majority of organisations will stay agile and adapt to different working policies and patterns, but the importance of being able to travel to shared workspaces to connect remains a constant. Wherever it’s done, workers and their employers will see stronger results from people engaging in ‘intentional working’ – maximising the time they spend with colleagues collaborating, problem solving, and innovating.”
Despite being perceived as the biggest downside of working in an office, 74% of office workers are choosing to use their time on the commute productively on work tasks. This is more common for younger workers aged 18-24 and 25-34 (91% and 88% respectively) compared to those aged 55 and above (51%).
Rosie sums up: “As we all strive for work/life balance, this shows commitment to making all “work” time count. The organisations we partner with that empower their teams with flexibility and autonomy, choose us to help guarantee that those work journeys are smoother and quicker for their workers and create an opportunity to be more productive.”
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About Gett
Gett is a taxi booking platform trusted by more than 2,000 UK businesses. Our clients include London’s largest law firms, world-leading media organisations, big 4 consultancy firms, multinational financial institutions, and more.
Gett’s easy-to-use booking platform consolidates all taxi rides into one monthly bill, saving time on manual expense reports. Gett has a dedicated account management team and 24/7 customer support.
Gett offsets every gram of CO2 emitted via EcoAct and donates 2p from every ride to Trees for Cities, helping reduce emissions.
