At the end of April we launched our ‘future of work’ survey. There has, understandably, been a lot of speculation about how people are finding working from home, and what all of this will mean for the future of the workplace. So we wanted to collect some data to better understand people’s experiences of working from home, and their feelings on the return to the office – to more robustly inform how we think about the future of work.
We had over 1,200 responses, from around the UK and across all sectors. We’ve been sharing some stats, and some deeper insights, across our social media over the last couple of weeks, and below is a more comprehensive summary of the findings and our reflections on them. You can also view all data on our dashboard –
https://survey.spacelab.co.uk/the-future-of-work-survey-results/
If you have any queries about the survey, or would like to discuss the future of your workplace, then please get in touch at futureofwork@spacelab.co.uk.
The findings
What’s working about working from home
People are, on the whole, very happy working from home. 47% are happier at home, and 34% are ‘about the same’. Only 19% people are not happier. Whilst the current circumstances are bringing multiple challenges, they’re also opening up new opportunities for people in how they lead their lives – and demanding us to rethink the future of how we live and work.
Perceived productivity is also up. 83% people are feeling just as productive, or even more productive, working from home. Many are finding they have fewer distractions at home and are better able to concentrate away from the office. Of course productivity is difficult to quantify, and lots of tasks are harder to do when we are all remote. But going forward, people may choose to work from home to get certain tasks done. We do however also need to ensure workplaces provide distraction-free spaces that allow people to be productive when in the office.
The thing that people are most enjoying about working from home is not having to commute into the office – be that for not having to travel in the car / on public transport, or for the time saved. 81% people spend at least an hour commuting each day, and are now benefitting from the extra spare time they have. Some people do however miss their commute, especially those who usually walk or cycle to the office.
There was a fairly even spread of results for the other elements that people were enjoying – the flexibility to work in the way that best suits them, the ability to focus and concentrate, a more balanced lifestyle, and more quality time to spend with family and housemates.
79% feel that their employer will trust them more to work from home or away from the office post-lockdown (17% are still unsure, and only 4% think that they won’t be more trusted in future). Trust (or the lack thereof), between employers and employees, and between team mates, has in the past often been a barrier to working from home. Albeit sometimes just a perceived barrier. But with the majority of us having to work from home under lockdown, everyone has had to be more trusting of each other. And hopefully with lasting effects – in terms of giving people the freedom to work from home as they wish in the future, and also in terms of the development of stronger working relationships and more empowered, autonomous team members.
So overall, there is a big appetite for increased working from home in future. Pre-lockdown, on average, 59% people ‘never’ or only ‘occasionally’ worked from home. But 72% people would like to work from home at least 2 days per week in future, and 43% at least 3 days.
What’s not working about working from home
There are however things that people are missing about not being in the office – things which will arguably become even more important in our workplaces of the future. And which will mean that we don’t all move to working from home full-time. People are most missing not being able to socialise with colleagues or collaborate face-to-face. Although online interaction and video conference calls are enabling people to communicate and work together whilst remote, people are missing meeting in-person. So in future, people will still need a place to go to for collaborative activities, and for the more social side of working life – which is also essential to building and maintaining the culture of an organisation. (Read more about this on our blog).
The future of work
So where does all of this leave the workplace of the future? Whilst it is certainly too early to make concrete statements about the future, given the fluid nature of our current context, there are clear aspirations and working practices emerging (and existing ones which are now accelerating), which will change the nature of how and where we work. This is a moment of huge opportunity for us to create a landscape of work based on choice, with people able to consciously choose how and where to work each day – driven by role, task, personal preference, and other (work and life) commitments.
So the workplace will no longer be the default place to work, as it has predominantly been in the past. It is likely that people will not choose to commute all the way into the office to simply work at a desk all day, but rather will go to the workplace on certain days (most people for 2-3 days per week – which would result in an average of 46% people working out of the office at any one point in time). And for certain tasks e.g. to collaborate and socialise face-to-face; to concentrate (if their home or elsewhere doesn’t provide a great space for this); and/or to work around other activities.
Our workplaces will need to evolve in line with these new priorities – which for many businesses will result in smaller office spaces, but spaces that are able to flexibly accommodate people’s needs when in (read more about this on our blog).
There may also be an increase in smaller workplaces popping up in smaller towns / local high streets – for those who want to avoid a long commute, but need a place to work away from home. Businesses may choose to create regional hubs or outposts for dispersed workers to gravitate to, and/or small co-working style spaces could accommodate the demand. This would also help support local economies as they face post-covid 19 challenges.
And of course, home-working set-ups will need more attention as working from home becomes a more long-term part of our working lives. Only 28% respondents are working from a separate study space in their home, and some of the biggest challenges people are currently facing are poor ergonomics and distraction from others. Employers will need to help set their people up to be as productive and healthy as possible whilst working from home, and longer term, housing design is likely to evolve to better accommodate new patterns of working and living.
Short-term fixes
We must also consider the shorter-term return to the workplace – as lockdown relaxes and people are encouraged to go back to the office where necessary, and in time, where possible. Currently, 34% people are keen to get back to the workplace once lockdown ends, though 29% wouldn’t feel comfortable returning to the workplace until there is a vaccine.
The return to the office in the short-term poses a number of concerns for people, pointing to the range of issues that businesses will need to consider. Concerns about health and wellbeing, and the inability to socially distance whilst commuting or in the workplace itself, are concerns which will require material and spatial solutions. Businesses will need to think through cleaning protocols and physical distancing measures in their buildings, and decisions will need to be made about even going into the office or not. Of equal concern to people though is the potential loss of the flexibility and autonomy they have had whilst working from home over recent weeks and months.
As we move into a new chapter, post-’lockdown’, conversations will be needed around working practices and cultures – and how, and where, people want to work. There needn’t be a loss of flexibility and autonomy, particularly now that employer/employee trust is up. Rather, we will need to be trialling and establishing new working practices now, in the short-term, that will work for people, as well as businesses, in the longer-term.
What’s next?
The survey is now closed, after a brilliant 1,200 responses. We pledged that for every person that filled out the 5 minute survey, we would give 5 minutes of our time back to someone who would benefit from our skills – and we are delighted to have raised 12 days, 6 hours and 30 minutes. Thank you to everyone who took part. We’ll be sharing how we’ll be putting that time to good use over the coming weeks, so keep your eyes peeled…