Independent workers in certain industries may be expected to travel more frequently to client offices this autumn, according to research carried out by TradingPlatforms.com.
From the survey, the average attendance rate for the banking industry was the highest at 47%. However, the average attendance rate for logistics and technology was at the opposite end of the spectrum at 15%.
In recent months, the latter has attracted media attention. Big industries like Google, Apple, and Tesla have worked hard to get their employees back to their desks. Yet, their workforce prefers the current state of remote or hybrid working.
The attendance varies widely for all 13 sectors targeted during the survey. No sector averages more than 50% attendance; only four of the 13 sectors reach more than 50% peak attendance.
TradingPlatforms’s Edith Muthoni, had this to say,
The pandemic highlighted extra problems with returning to the office. Most workers have issues with long commutes to and from the office, high childcare costs, ongoing worries about exposure to Covid-19 variants, and now monkeypox.
As a result, workers are fighting to maintain the option of working from home while employers force employees back into the office.
Return to Office has to have a better balance
Employers and workers face the novel problem of coordinating a return to work, whether full-time or in a hybrid capacity. Employee morale, dedication, and satisfaction are all susceptible to the effects of management.
Consequently, it affects the company, positively or negatively, depending on the measures taken, according to the research report.
More permanent staff and freelancers alike will be seriously concerned how they will afford their return to office-based work now that many have moved further away from city centres during the pandemic, and the rise in petrol prices and daily consumables is eating into their pay, which has not gone up in line with inflation. The lack of suitable and affordable childcare continues to be a burden for all working parents and inhibits highly skilled talent from going for roles that they feel could easily be done remotely.
Return to office still a trickle
Due to the changing nature of the pandemic, even the most well-laid plans have not always come to fruition. Thus, employees’ return to their workplaces has been more of a trickle than a flood. As a result, there is much conjecture about what a widespread return to the office may entail, said the report.
