Pandemic rethink: Nearly half of all UK workers are less career-focused
With freedom day fast approaching, all attention is on workers returning to the office and the nature of flexible working options.
Since working from home, due to Covid-related restrictions, 50 per cent of people experienced difficulty with disassociating their work lives with their home lives, according to insurance giant Aviva.
The company’s study found that 47 per cent of employees were less career-focused because of the pandemic.
According to Aviva’s well-being lead, Debbie Bullock, this has “given people pause for thought about where work fits into their lives”.
Bullock concluded that the rise of the digital era made it harder for workers to switch off from their jobs and to adapt into their ‘normal’ day to day lives.
WFH preferred
Aviva concluded that only 14 per cent of 2,000 employees from other companies would happily return to the office.
In terms of gender divide, more men were said to favour returning to the office, whereas more women were said to be content working full-time at home.
Bullock said: “Employees will look for something in return to encourage them back to the office, and employers must ensure offices become a destination for collaborating, mentoring and socialising to rebuild relationships.”
One initiative taken to ease the blurred work-home balance was that by dating app Bumble. Bumble reportedly shut their offices for a week to help fight against stressful work-life balance. This was so that people can spend time focusing on themselves.