By Iasmina Ionescu
Working from home and from the office to create a hybrid working schedule has become the new normal after the COVID-19 pandemic forced offices to close for months at a time.
Many companies within Yorkshire and nation-wide have adapted to the new way of living by giving employees the choice of whether to work from the comfort of their homes or travel to work, with many preferring a mixture of both.
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) the proportion of working adults who did any work from home in 2020 increased to 37% on average from 27% in 2019.
During the pandemic, employees had no choice but to work from home due to government regulations and social distancing, with many companies welcoming the change and some preferring it to office working.
The ONS said: “Of working adults currently homeworking, 85% wanted to use a ‘hybrid’ approach of both home and office working in future.”
Sky Sales in Leeds, West Yorkshire has adapted to the new ways of working, giving employees the freedom to choose between hybrid working or on-site.
Sky is offering one to two days on-site and the rest of the week remotely, based on the employee’s schedule and preference.
With many wanting fully remote, at-home working, Sky is looking for an option for employees to work remotely and not come into office, in the near future.
Isabella Leary, working in recruitment for Burberry in Leeds is one employee who has benefited from the move to work from home. She said: “I only go into office one day a week and it’s made my life so much easier.
“I don’t have to commute to office and back and I find that I’m able to do more work while at home.”
According to the ONS, those aged 30 to 49 years were most likely to report working from home, with almost half (45%) saying so compared with around one-third of those aged 16 to 29 years (34%) and 50 to 69 years (32%).
Regan Maughan, 21, sales advisor based in Leeds, said: “I prefer to work from home because it works better with my schedule and allows me to manage my time better, although in-office working is better when it comes to communication and involvement.”