Research published in The Times this week found that the majority of employees in the UK would refuse to comply with full-time return-to-the office mandates.
This is despite senior management’s waning enthusiasm for remote working. A September 2024 KPMG survey revealed that 83% of UK CEOs expect a return to full-time office working within the next three years, and in May, INEOS CEO, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, joined other senior business figures by stating that staff should return to the office.
Call for business leaders to rethink hybrid working strategies
A OnePoll survey of 2000 UK professionals engaged in hybrid working, commissioned by global learning and engagement platform Kahoot! in November 2024 revealed that, though a desire for remote working remains amongst UK professionals, 29% of 18-24-year-old respondents and 34% of 25-34 year olds saying they would be more likely to quit their jobs, should more days in the office be mandated) a range of challenges are emerging. These are offset by positives too:
- The mental and physical health impacts of WFH
- 55% of UK workers suffer from ‘video call fatigue’ (with exhaustion after too many video calls experienced most acutely by Gen Z)
- 11% admit that WFH has increased their weekly alcohol consumption. Positively
- 74% believe hybrid working has improved personal relationships
- 63% believe it has had a positive impact on relationships with colleagues.
- WFH Productivity drop:
- 46% of UK hybrid workers now believe they are more productive working in the office than working remotely.
- Only 23% of UK hybrid workers believe that they are more productive at home.
- The new intolerant video call etiquette
- 28% of UK workers are less tolerant of a colleague’s video call being crashed by children or pets than a year ago
- 50% object to other video call attendees eating and drinking.
- Security risks of hybrid working
- 32% of UK workers have eavesdropped on a stranger’s video call (on public transport or in a cafe) seeing or hearing confidential information which could be exploited.
- A growing distrust of fellow remote workers
- Over half of UK hybrid workers believe a colleague has faked technical issues to exit a video call
- 36% think colleagues do less work at home than in the office.
- “That video call could have been an email”
- 87% of Brits believe a proportion of their weekly working video calls are unnecessary
- Over a 1/4 of Brits think that half of their weekly calls could have been resolved by email.
- A third of UK workers consider video calls less productive than in-person meetings, and productivity on video calls has decreased year-on-year.
- WFH And the Home
- 27% of hybrid workers choose properties based on their potential as a video call background;
- 42% of UK workers blur the background due to shame about their domestic environment.
Commenting on the report’s findings, Sean D’Arcy, Chief Solutions Officer at Kahoot! said: “The novelty of remote work has no doubt faded, with many employees reporting video call fatigue, productivity drops, and privacy concerns. Yet, our study shows that a third of UK hybrid workers would quit if WFH days were reduced, underscoring the lasting impact of the remote work shift.
Workers also highlight that increasing interactivity could help alleviate fatigue and make meetings more effective. Rather than forcing employees back to the office, employers should focus on improving hybrid work by optimizing meetings, keeping them shorter, more purposeful, and engaging. Flexibility and collaboration remain key, and at Kahoot! we see how fostering engagement empowers hybrid teams to thrive while meeting the demands of a modern workplace.”
