Return-to-office outpaces remote work preference
As employers enforce full-time in-office work, 4 in 10 people say they no longer work from home at all.
Four years after the pandemic ushered in a new era of remote work, 4 in 10 people no longer work from home at all despite only 15% of workers preferring this arrangement, according to a Commuter Census survey compiled by climate tech organization Mobiityways.
Seventeen percent of workers said they would like to work from home five days a week if they had a choice, up three percentage points from last year. Fewer respondents, however, indicated they were willing to work from home as an alternative to their current mode of commuting.
Hybrid models that combine home and on-site work are the most preferred arrangement of the 10,325 U.K. commuters surveyed. Sixty-three percent of respondents said they would like to work from home between one and four times per week. Workers preferred working from home three times a week (20%), with twice a week coming a close second (19%) and one day per week coming in third with 11% selecting this option.
However, since the pandemic, the average number of days working at home is steadily decreasing, falling from 1.8 days a week last year to 1.6 days this year.
More than half of respondents said they would like more help from their employer to commute sustainably.
Read more: Remote workers willing to return to office – if the price is right
“We’ve seen a huge 42% decrease in those who would consider working from home as an alternative to their current mode of commuting compared to last year,” said Mobilityways managing director Julie Furnell. “Just 26% of respondents said they would consider it this year. This means that employers must provide new ways to get their workforce to site sustainably and reduce their Scope 3 emissions, which we expect will be a legal requirement to report soon.”
The study also revealed that 15% of employees now carpool to work, which represents a return to pre-pandemic levels.