One in four Brits would take a pay cut for a shorter working week
One in four British people want four-day working weeks to become the norm – even if it means accepting a pay cut.
The poll results come with just over a month until millions are allowed to return to the office from June 21.
According to the survey results 70 per cent said they would happily switch to a four-day week on the same pay – but a quarter were even willing to take a pay cut of up to a fifth.
For two thirds more flexible start times would be their priority if they are to stop working from home.
Expectations of work
The survey, commissioned by office designers MoreySmith, asked over 1,000 Brits in full or part-time work about their new expectations of work.
“We are finding that whilst many young people are desperate to return to the workplace for a better, more social working environment, employees with a long commute and young children are often more reluctant to stop working from home ” said the director of MoreySmith, Linda Morey-Burrows.
Morey-Burrows said office spaces will need to be designed “to cater for the new world with flexibility, comfort, outside spaces and sociability in mind”. Among some of those design changes more secure bike facilities, on-site showers and being able to bring pets to work were highlighted in the survey as important factors for people deciding whether to stop working from home.
Wellbeing was another key consideration for employees, with 43 per cent saying they wanted access to mental health facilities on-site. Another 44 per cent said that access to outdoor terraces and gardens would be important in their decision to return to a physical office.
Hygiene too cropped up over two thirds of employees wanting ‘Covid havens’ – offices that guarantee hygiene so there’s no need for covid restrictions once on-site.