Almost half of London companies whose staff can work from home expect them to do so for up to five days a week after COVID-19 pandemic restrictions end, and smaller businesses are more likely than larger ones to move ahead with remote working.
That is according to a poll of 520 business leaders by the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), which also found that slightly more companies said employees’ main reason for concern about returning to the office was the risk of contracting COVID-19 when commuting — rather than at the office.
While most economists concur that remote working is likely to continue in some form, the figures suggest a profound effect on the workplace that could translate into reduced footfall in major cities and lower sales for businesses that rely on people going to offices.
“Many businesses have already made decisions regarding their premises and ways of working once restrictions are lifted,” LCCI chief executive officer Richard Burge said. “It’s about what business has judged best for the bottom line or productivity of their company.”
Separate research by LinkedIn found more than two-thirds of British workers said their employer expected them to return to the office, with Mondays and Tuesdays set to be the busiest office days. Almost half said that they wanted to split their time between home and the office.
“Hybrid working will also help open up jobs to people who may have previously been locked out of them due to location, disability or caregiving responsibilities,” said Janine Chamberlin, UK country manager at the networking Web site.
About 6 million professional jobs in the UK that could be done from anywhere risk being outsourced to other countries, said a report by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, a research group founded by the former British prime minister.
It said that the “mass experiment” with remote working means that companies concerned about costs could decide to keep just core staff needed for in-person collaboration and decisionmaking.
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