UK workers refusing to return to the office

Over half of people that regularly work from home (WFH) would likely put their foot down to being forced to return to the office full time shows new research by Kings College London (KCL)

There has been a lot of attention around large companies such as KPMG, PwC, Amazon, Vodafone, Barclays, Asda and many increasing the amount staff must attend the office, but research shows that just 42% of hybrid workers would comply with returning to the office full time.

In 2022 54% said they would refuse, showing how engrained WFH has become after millions were forced to work remotely during the pandemic.

In fact, being asked to the return to the office full time would force up to 50% of staff to look for a new job, up from 40% in 2022. 10% of staff said they would quit immediately, but without financial stability to be able to do so would be a risk.

Female employees are more likely to refuse, with 64% of women saying they would either quit or be forced to look for a new role. 51% of men said the same, but when they are fathers to children between six and 17 this rises to 53%.

Only one third of mothers said they would comply with a return to office mandate.

Heejung Chung, director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at KCL said: ‘There has been a marked shift in attitudes, with workers now seeing flexibility as the norm. Managers need to understand and adapt to this new reality.

‘Rather than forcing a return to pre-pandemic working patterns, organisations should be looking to formalise hybrid models, invest in remote collaboration tools, and set up coordinated in-office days to maximise engagement.’

KCL data shows that despite larger companies asking staff to return to the office more frequently the average amount of people working remotely has largely stayed the same since 2022. 27% of women said their main place of work was their home in 2022 and 2024, while the rate of men saying this has fallen from 30% in 2022 to 27% in 2024.

Additionally, the average amount of days people spend at home per week has increased slightly between 2022-24. In 2022 staff would work from home less than once per week on average, this has now increased to 1.3. However, the number of workplaces having a three or four day minimum in the office rule has been increasing.

40% of people say they are working remotely just once per week, while just one quarter of respondents said they WFH three or more days per week.

Chung said: ‘An increasing amount of research shows that well-designed hybrid working models offer significant benefits for both employers and employees.

‘Where possible, workers should feel emboldened to hold their ground in the face of return-to-office mandates, as the weight of the evidence demonstrating remote working does not harm productivity is growing. In fact, many studies are finding flexible workers tend to work longer and harder compared to those who do not work flexibly – and importantly, those who are able to work remotely tend to be more loyal and committed to their jobs.’

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