Fewer than 1 in 10 want to return to offices full-time

FEWER than one in 10 people who are working from home want to spend the majority of their time in the office when coronavirus restrictions lift.

A new study found that only nine per cent of those working from home want to be in the office four or five days a week.

Nearly eight out of 10 (78 per cent) said they would prefer to be in the office two days a week or less, according to a new study. And almost a third (31 per cent) did not want to spend any time there.

However, preliminary analysis of the study, which was carried out by academics at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and the University of Manchester, also found significant numbers said their health had worsened after working from home.

Two-fifths (40 per cent) believe their mental health has worsened, while 37 per cent reported their physical health was not as good.

The study was carried out by the universities and the Scottish Trades Union Congress, with the support of trade unions including Unite, Unison, the Public and Commercial Services union and the Communication Workers Union.

A total of 3,140 workers across the UK gave details of their experiences – with the results published a year on from the initial lockdown.

In late 2019, just five per cent of the UK workforce was home-based, but in April 2020, after the pandemic hit, 43.1 per cent were.

Although this number declined to 25 per cent in August last year, it rose again to more than 40 per cent in early 2021.

Professor Phil Taylor, from Strathclyde University, one of the report’s authors, said: “There is a majority preference from workers of wanting to spend two days or less in the workplace. However, a blanket approach is inappropriate.

“There is also compelling evidence that WFH is not desirable for a significant minority. The reasons include inadequate domestic workstation arrangements, space constraints, compromised work-life balance, gendered experiences of domestic and household burdens and loneliness and isolation.”