beyond, a flexible workspace operator, commissioned an independent survey of 945 full-time employees within UK businesses and found that 61% of business leaders are struggling to get employees back in the office as much as they would like.
According to the findings, 44% of employees say commuting time is a significant barrier to them coming into the office, while 45% say the cost of their commute is an issue.
However, on average, employees would like to be in the office three days a week, with only 18% favouring fully remote roles. In addition, employees recognise the significant benefits of coming into the office: 37% miss interactions with colleagues when working from home, while 34% say they miss having a distinct separation between home and work life.
beyond’s research also revealed the features of a workspace that are most important to employees:
Comfortable furniture and spaces (76% said this is ‘very important or ‘important’ to them)
Superfast, reliable Wi-Fi (74%)
Access to additional technology, such as large screens, printers and scanners (63%)
Meeting rooms (62%)
A social atmosphere (61%)
Outdoor spaces (56%)
Great onsite coffee and hot drink options (55%)
Networking opportunities and events with others in the same building or workspace (54%)
Collaborative areas (52%)
Stylish design (42%)
Wilco Wijnbergen, co-founder of beyond, said: “In today’s troubled economy, amidst the rising cost of living, it’s no surprise that the commute cost is a significant barrier to working in the office. As times get more difficult in the coming months, businesses will have to go further and critically assess if their workspace offer is meeting the expectations of their employees.
“Businesses must consider if their current offerings are meeting the demands of the modern workspace and outmatching the commute barrier. Employees made their expectations very clear in this research – 75% told us that offices must have comfortable furniture and great WiFi. In addition, around three-fifths mentioned the importance of a social atmosphere as well as additional technologies and facilities.
“Businesses trying to meet all these demands are going to find it a very costly price-check. But they need not do the heavy lifting themselves. Flexible workspaces are able to realise these goals and more while encouraging employees to develop the office-to-home working pattern they need.”
