Fear of second wave means British workers are least likely to want to return to office

WORKERS in the UK are the most reluctant to return to the office, a report has found.

Their reluctance to go back to the office is largely driven by fears of a second wave of infection, rather than enjoying home-working, the survey of 8,000 adults from eight countries suggests.

The divergence in attitude in the UK – and US – compared with Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Mexico and Singapore, could also be explained by the two countries experiencing a higher death toll which hit at a later stage.

While 73 per cent of the workforce have negative feelings about returning to the workplace in the UK and US, only 54 per cent say the same in Germany and 56 per cent in Italy.

Similarly, 69 per cent of German employees reported positive feelings about being back in the office – compared to just 48 per cent of UK employees.

The top concerns about a return to old working patterns were rooted in health, with UK staff most worried about a second wave, getting sick and infecting their families. A far smaller

proportion – 21 per cent – were worried about losing the practical advantages of remote working, such as commuting and having less flexibility.

Chris Gray, the UK director of Manpowergroup, the international staffing group, which conducted the survey, said: “Many offices across the UK have returned throughout the summer, in slightly less capacity than before, but we’re hearing every day that people are keen to get back in some way to the workplace.

“What is key for employers is to find the balance and not paint all employees with a broad-brush; just as many individuals who want more remote working would like it with the option of a physical workplace a few days a week.”

Leesman, the workplace research group, said its own research of 120,000 employees worldwide found that UK workers were among the least experienced with home-working entering into lockdown. Around 76 per cent of Belgian workers had experience of remote working before the crisis, compared with only 44 per cent in Britain.

Tim Oldman, the chief executive of Leesman, said: “It may be that we are still enjoying the novelty factor, because our technology is supporting us and certain things the home is supporting better than any office – such as business confidential conversations.”

It comes as some of Britain’s biggest businesses have told staff they can work from home until 2021, despite the Government’s “back-to-work” campaign to boost the economy.

More than 20 of the largest companies have said that the majority of their employees will continue to work from home and will do so for the “foreseeable” future.