Research from CV-Library has found nearly a third (31 per cent) of Brits admit to slacking off when working away from the office, despite 60 per cent suggesting that they’d be more likely to accept a job offer if remote working was included. The study surveyed 2,000 UK professionals and found only 30 per cent of professionals are allowed to work remotely, with 21 per cent saying that their current employer doesn’t trust them to work from home.
The findings suggest that bosses might be on to something, particularly when it comes to the younger generation. In fact, 18-24-year-olds are most likely to slack off when working at home (58.3 per cent) followed by 25-34 year olds (44.1 per cent). When asked what their biggest distractions are, employees cite the following:
- Household chores – 26 per cent
- The people you live with – 21.9 per cent
- Television – 21.9 per cent
- Childcare – 19.2 per cent
- Other errands – 15.1 per cent
“When offering remote working to your employees, you must first consider whether you trust them to be responsible with this perk,” said Lee Biggins, CEO and founder of CV-Library. “Are they going to get distracted easily, or will it help to boost their productivity?
“While some distractions are harder to avoid than others, make sure your employees have the technology they need to keep in contact with the office,” he adds. “After all, our research shows that Brits are more likely to accept a job offer if they can work from home and work-life balance is clearly a huge priority for professionals. It’s certainly a difficult time to hire right now and the pressure is mounting on employers to give in to candidate’ demands, with remote working being one of them.”
The findings also reveal that 70.4 per cent of Brits would work from home if they were allowed, while 27.4 per cent of employees would leave their job and look elsewhere if they were no longer allowed to work remotely.
Biggins concludes: “If you want to keep hold of your staff and make them feel valued, then offering remote working might be the way forward. It’s a huge responsibility and one that you should only give to members of staff that you can trust to not abuse this power. But, it can definitely pay off and help you on your way to becoming an employer of choice!”
