ONLY 3% OF EMPLOYEES WANT TO RETURN FULLY TO THE OFFICE

Only 3% of office workers want to return to the office five days a week, according to a survey by consulting firm Advanced Workplace Associates, quoted by Bloomberg.

As many as 86% of employees want to work from home at least two days a week, according to the consulting company, after surveying nearly 10,000 people around the world in various fields of activity, including finance, technology and energy.

Counselors warn that employees may decide to leave if they have to return to the office full-time.

Employees of all ages share the same sentiment. They also say they prefer to travel to work on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, which increases the likelihood that offices will remain empty for the rest of the week.

Many banks are now ready for flexible operations after two years of restrictive measures because of Covid. Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc and NatWest Group Plc, for example, allow hybrid work for many of their employees. Some fintech companies like Revolut Ltd. and Eigen Technologies Ltd. even let their staff work entirely remotely.

"Employers need to realize that the spirit has been released from the bottle," Andrew Mawson, managing director of Advanced Workplace Associates, said in a statement. "Employees have seen that flexibility can work and bosses who are not sensitive to the needs of their employees will suffer."

The British bank NatWest expects about 87% of its 60 000 employees to distribute their work between home and office in the long run. So far, about 10 000 of its staff, including salespeople and employees in branches and data centers, are still working entirely in the office, said Sam Bowerman, one of the bank's human resources directors, in an interview earlier this month.