The future of the workplace
The opportunity for a phased return to the workplace has started to become a reality for many businesses. Having recently undertaken several Linkedin polls about this topic, it has been interesting to understand more about the preferences of individuals in the tax network to get back into the office. The results clearly show that the aspiration from the majority of people (over 75%) is to undertake a mixture of working from home and working in the office moving forward. Only 5% of respondents want to return to the office on a 5 day a week basis and 19% would like to work from home permanently.
What is the reason behind this? It is obvious from the conversations that I have had with my tax network that there are many benefits as well as challenges with remote working. This sentiment has been supported through our Linkedin poll results too. 69% of respondents said they enjoyed working from home more because of the work/life balance it afforded them; 16% said they felt more productive and 11% said they valued the money/time they saved on commuting to the office. The challenges faced have varied during lockdown due to individual circumstances, however, it is apparent that some are likely to persist long term – 46% find it a struggle to separate work life from home life, 41% found challenges with team morale and cohesion, and 13% had concerns around onboarding new starters remotely.
Following on from this, we have explored what is currently motivating individuals looking to move jobs right now, aside from job role and compensation – 49% said company culture and 42% said flexible working.
What will working life look like from now on?
As many businesses look to the future and consider what their new flexible working policies might entail, there is no doubt that there will be an important balance to be struck between maintaining your culture and team spirit whilst also meeting employee demands for more remote working. No doubt (as we have already seen throughout the pandemic), businesses will look to utilise technology to support communication, collaboration and innovation more and more.
Over the last few weeks, we have seen an increase in the number of individuals looking to register with Brewer Morris as candidates in order to understand what is happening in the market and the options available to them. Whilst we are still operating with a lower volume of roles than normal, we do continue to be instructed on new mandates each week and are seeing confidence across our client base returning slowly. If you would be interested in a confidential discussion about the market and/or wish to find out more about the opportunities we are currently working on then please contact one of our tax recruitment experts.
See more career advice or read more articles.
