Workers Don’t Expect a Full-Time Return to Offices

Remote work is here to stay—at least in the minds of employees. According to a recent study conducted by the BBC, 70 percent of those polled felt they would “never return to the office at the same rate” as they were accustomed to pre-pandemic. However, this attitude does not seem to jive with management. About half of individuals holding leadership positions polled felt that remote work would adversely affect employees’ creativity and ability to collaborate, as opposed to just 38 percent of employees holding the same perspective. The answer many business leaders are coming to is some sort of hybrid work environment, but even then, it’s difficult to nail down a solution that works. Recruiters, in particular, are finding this lack of clarity concerning. “People are turning down opportunities because they don’t offer remote working, and they would rather sit tight and wait for the right job to become available,” said Kam Vara, a consultant at Katie Bard Recruitment. “It used to be that people would fit their lives around their work. COVID is teaching people that it doesn’t work that way anymore.”