Returning to the office – what employees are most concerned about

Employees are most concerned about their work-life balance and their commute to work rather than the risk of COVID-19 if they return to the office.

Research carried out by e-days, a workforce intelligence platform, found that 70 per cent of employees are worried their commute to the office and about the impact that returning to work will have on their work-life balance.

Over a third (34 per cent) of UK white collar employees have returned to the office, which is less compared to other countries. Nearly three-quarters (68 per cent) of white-collar workers in France, Germany, Italy and Spain have returned to their workplaces. (HRreview)

As more staff return to work, companies need to ensure the time employees do spend in the office is as stress-free as possible. This means being aware of what your employees concerns are and how you can help address them. Building in more flexibility to where people do their best work or making sure that those who like to start earlier or finish later are allowed to do so will also help and establishing processes so that employees can ensure social distancing is adhered to. And with COVID-19 already restricting how employees spend their free time, managing annual leave to ensure a healthy work-life balance has never been more important.

Employers need to pay attention to these concerns and messages if they want to retain key talent; and they need to work hard to create processes and environments that make these adjustments possible.

Anna Craig, Managing Consultant