Research from productivity platform ClickUp has suggested that remote work could enable over 13 million Brits to seize the opportunity to live and work outside the major cities. This is turn could help to spread economic opportunity across the UK, and therefore help with the process of ‘Levelling Up’.
The research found that 45 per cent of the UK workforce believe working remotely from wherever they’d like on a permanent basis is a realistic option. More than half (53 per cent) of Brits believe that living in a major city is important to their career advancement – however if they had the same career prospects living elsewhere as they do now, only 15 per cent of people would choose to continue living in the city.
The UK government recently announced its Levelling Up plan, which aims to bring gigabit broadband to 85 per cent of the UK, and £1 billion to deliver 4G coverage to 95 per cent of the country by the end of 2025, amongst other measures to reduce regional inequality. The new research from ClickUp suggests that remote work could play a major role in helping the government achieve its key objective and level the economic playing field across the country.
Amber Coster, VP of Operations, EMEA at ClickUp, said: “The key to spreading economic opportunity across the UK could be staring us in the face. The country has already adapted brilliantly to remote working, and there is a huge demand to live and work outside of the main economic hubs. There are still some productivity hurdles to be overcome but with the right approach and tools, combined with the government’s commitment to improving connectivity, remote work could play a major role in bringing economic opportunity to everyone.”
However, remote work does not come without its challenges; ClickUp’s research revealed the top areas that need improvement to make remote work a permanent reality, according to the workforce:
1. Ways of communicating (19 per cent)
2. Managing employees (17 per cent)
3. Managing workloads and projects (17 per cent)
4. Too much importance is given to face-to-face meetings (17 per cent)
5. Software and tools (16 per cent)
Managing and measuring productivity becomes even more important with distributed workforces, yet less than a fifth (19 per cent) believe their employer’s able to do this well. In fact, data shows there is significant room for improvement with close to half (44 per cent) of Brits rating their employer’s ability to measure productivity as average or below average.
