Half of UK professionals might quit if ordered back to the office full time, poll shows

c/world · u/MicroWave@lemmy.world · 203 points

**Summary**

Nearly half of UK professionals would consider quitting if forced to return to the office full time, with 58% of women and 42% of men saying they’d consider leaving.

A poll by Hays found hybrid work remains dominant, with 77% of professionals following a mixed model.

Commuting costs were the top concern for 73% of workers, and 66% of employers feared backlash over stricter mandates.

While some firms push for more in-office time, only 8% plan to enforce full returns. Many employers recognize hybrid work's benefits for productivity and retention.

Comments

u/CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al · 1 points

True

u/ramble81@lemm.ee · 10 points

I’d say it’s also all the property owners who need occupancy to justify their costs

u/Sibshops@lemm.ee · 3 points

I didn't mean to imply they weren't already more productive than in-office workers.

I'm saying that the effort taking away support from remote workers should instead be going toward supporting them.

u/tischbier@feddit.org · 40 points

I thought we already proved multiple times that work from home clearly increased productivity across the board and reduced costs for the employ and employer.

The push to go back to an office is more about control. Not in a “I need to get my money out of you and make sure you’re ‘working’” but in a “I would rather spend more money to remind my workers that if they work for me—they are owned.”

It feels more like an issue with worker flexibility than worker productivity. Workers having a life and workers being happy means that they will eventually want other things. And usually those “other things” eventually lead to the owners losing a grip on societal and economic power.

Better to have workers not be people. People are unpredictable and profits need to predictably rise forever.

u/Kecessa@sh.itjust.works · 16 points

15% productivity increase going from 2 days in office to 5 days remote across a department with hundreds of employees.

What more do they need??? Companies would spend millions for that kind of increase in productivity but they wouldn't accept to save money by switching to fully remote!

u/ibelieveinthehousehippo@lemmy.ca · 5 points

I agree, but productivity is not the motivation for return to office mandates. It's about employers regaining power and control over their employees.

u/Sibshops@lemm.ee · 29 points

We should be learning how to make remote workers more productive. Not forcing them back to the office.

u/CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al · 9 points

Not surprised... managers need to justify their existence, which is often harder to do wfh.

u/Takumidesh@lemmy.world · 3 points

Half of people *might* do something when presented with a hypothetical, how many of those would translate into actual action when the time comes?

u/jjjalljs@ttrpg.network · 3 points

People should organize. If management demands that people go back into the office for nonsense reasons (eg: control, spite), management should be removed. I don't care if that's because they resign, or because 20 of us showed up at their house just before dawn for a surprise party.