International Workplace Group’s research shows that strict return-to-office requirements are forcing workers to find new jobs.
More than 500 recruiters from the company and agencies were surveyed. The results showed that 2/3 (67%) of them had seen a rise in candidates who wanted to leave companies which demanded a full week at work. Three quarters of candidates have turned down new positions that do not offer hybrid working.
IWG also surveyed 1,000 workers currently working five days per week in an office. Nearly half (46%) of them said they were actively searching for a job which did not require them to commute daily.
Sixty three per cent of respondents believed their employer would lose talent if they required workers to be in the office all day.
Employees are most likely to oppose a return to the office due to the high costs of travel (44%) or the amount of time they spend travelling to and from work (40%).
Another factor is a lack work-life balance. A fifth of respondents said they experienced burnout every day, in part due to their long commutes.
IWG suggests that employers could help workers by providing premises nearer to their homes. Over three quarters (77%) said that a workplace closer to their home would be attractive to them as a potential employer. The company found that workers are four times as likely to prefer an office near their home.
Mark Dixon, CEO of IWG and founder, stated: “Flexible work offers businesses benefits that go beyond employee retention. The hybrid model has been proven to increase workforce productivity, job satisfaction and reduce costs.
It’s not surprising that hybrid working is a growing trend in the business world. This allows employees to be able to ditch the daily commute.
Stanford Professor Nicholas Bloom says that companies who mandate five-day attendance in the office could see a 35% rise in attrition. He believes that a number of companies, including Amazon and others, will reverse these mandates in the next few months.
