With the number of people successfully receiving their 1st and 2nd Covid jabs increasing day on day there is more and more talk in the employment market of how many days per week employee's will be expected to return to the office.

Statistics show that over 30 million people in the UK have received their 1st Covid jab with a further 15 million people already having received their 2nd jab. That's over 50% of the country who have now received a first dose of one of the vaccines available. As things stand there has been no specific guidance issued to businesses on proposed dates for employees returning to the office. This means it is very much down to the individual business to asses their own needs and ability to provide a safe working environment.

What employees are saying

As a business we are obviously speaking with employers and employees daily and there appears to be common ground but also a bit of a disconnect between expectations.  Backing this up is data from a survey conducted across the Atlantic in the US. Future Forum by Slack conducted a worldwide survey of over 9,000 employees and here's what they found...

27% of employees say they'd never (13%) or rarely (14%) work from their employer's office in an ideal world. 39% say they'd want to always (12%) or usually (27%) work from the office. And 34% are in the middle.

48% of employees say they expect their employer to make permanent policy changes to expand remote working post-pandemic. 31% say they don't expect permanent changes, and 21% are unsure.

What employers are saying

Another study, again conducted in the US but this time by PwC states the following. 

Most companies are heading toward a hybrid workplace where a large number of office employees rotate in and out of offices configured for shared spaces. It’s a complicated way to organise the work week and is likely to transform a company’s culture, employee engagement, the way the work gets done and how office space is used.

83% of employers now say the shift to remote work has been successful for their company.

68% of employers say a typical employee should be in the office at least three days a week to maintain a distinct company culture.

Office size and/or location may well change in order to accommodate these changes.

In short, employees are split on the prospect of returning to the office. With a mixed approach being most likely from employers we believe this to be a landscape that will be constantly evolving over the next 12 months as people return to the office (or don't) and new working practices are adopted. But how flexible are you willing to be when it comes to WFH vs office based employment?