Only a quarter of workers want to return to the office full-time

A new report has found that just one in four UK workers want to go back to the office full-time after the lockdown ends.

The Okta survey, which polled more than 2,000 office workers across the UK, found that only 31 per cent of office workers found a decrease in their productivity while working from home, despite the radical shift in the way we work. 

The report also showed that more than half the respondents missed in-person interactions and conversations with their colleagues. Around 10 per cent miss the benefits provided by their company, such as free food and fitness classes, the survey found.

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Job satisfaction

 Of those who prefer the new work environment: 

• 62 per cent of respondents found the increased flexibility having helped improve work  focus
• 55 per cent revealed higher productivity levels due to additional free time
• 44 per cent said that they had fewer distractions at home

“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us all to think and act differently”, said Jesper Frederiksen, VP and GM of EMEA, Okta. “Businesses have had to learn the hard way about the need to digitally transform to survive, and it is these learnings that will help us emerge from this crisis stronger.”

There have been significant challenges as well. Around 60 per cent of respondents said that they have been able to access the software that they need to carry out their day-to-day duties. 

Meanwhile, 24 per cent of newly remote workers said they could not do so, and were, therefore, unable to be productive from home at the beginning of the pandemic. Almost 28 per cent said their businesses had not equipped them with the necessary hardware, such as a laptop, in order to be able to work productively at home.

Furthermore, only 32 per cent of respondents expressed complete confidence that the WFH online security measures implemented by their employers would safeguard them against cyber attacks.

“The idea of a shifted security perimeter is now everyone’s reality. Many organisations were forced to quickly spin up remote work environments and security tools to enable business continuity during this time. And while we’ve seen a lot of rapid success, for many this short-term firefighting approach isn’t sustainable,” Frederiksen said. 

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