There’s no doubt that the phenomenon of working from home — or from wherever — has dramatically increased in the UK since the pandemic struck. But while the figures look positive at a first glance, the number of British employees working remotely full-time remains abysmally low. One organisation that advocates for remote work opportunities is doing its part to change that.
RemoteWorker is an online jobs board that specialises in helping hiring managers and businesses connect with job-seeking professionals for remote work positions. It has held a belief that remote working is the future even before the pandemic began, and that belief has only strengthened in recent times.
Research shows that the UK is not experiencing the same challenge as the US when it comes to remote work opportunities. While the workforces of both countries largely favour the chance to work from home, their respective businesses have taken diverging approaches. Unlike in the US, where many businesses are fighting to wrangle resistant staff back to office full-time, the vast majority of UK businesses have embraced hybrid working that allows employees to work remotely at least partly.
However, this approach to hybrid work has been inconsistent and confusing for many workers. Businesses vary when it comes to how many days they allow staff to work remotely, with some only allowing a meagre one or two remote days per month. Others still restrict remote work to only working from home, and not working from anywhere.
When it comes to fully remote work, on the other hand, studies have shown that while it has doubled since before the pandemic began, the figure still stands at under 25 per cent of the overall working population.
“It’s good that most businesses aren’t looking to get rid of remote work and are instead seeking to compromise with their staff by offering hybrid or flexible forms of working,” said Joseph Boll, RemoteWorker CEO. “We are happy to work with such businesses to help them find the best talent.
“But we would also like to see more businesses embracing full-time remote work. The success of hybrid work proves that employees are quite capable of working productively even when away from the office. So, we hope that as we continue to support all forms of remote work, there will be a higher percentage of businesses that are operating fully remotely as long as it benefits them and their employees.
“Businesses and workers can rely on resources like RemoteWorker for their needs when it comes to connecting with each other to match the best talent with the best remote work opportunities.”
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About Remote Worker (UK)
Remote Worker helps to connect the UK workforce with remote or work-from-home jobs in their chosen line of work. We are affiliated with Remote Worker (US), ClickJobs, EcoCareers and Caribbean Employment Services Inc.
