Chance to change working habits

MOVING on from the pandemic offers organisations the opportunity to redefine the way people work and to re-imagine the purpose of the office, according to a report.

The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) study said that as organisations look towards the future beyond Covid-19, they should consider the three ‘Hs’ of working – from home, a nearby hub or the head office.

Many people became homeworkers ‘virtually overnight’ when the country went into lockdown on March 23 last year and the report said the workforce of the future will want to make informed choices about where and how they work. Analysis of a sample of workers from public sector organisations found 88 per cent of the 4,961 respondents wanted to work at least one day a week from home, with 24 per cent happy to work full-time from home.

One in ten said they preferred not to work from home while 2 per cent did not specify.

Shona Adam, SFT associate director of workplace change and co-author of the report, said: ‘We need to use the experience we’ve had during the pandemic in a positive way, to dispel “presenteeism” and consign it to the past. Workers can be located anywhere provided they undertake the activities they are paid to do.’