Latest news with #officeCulture
Yahoo
16-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The hard-working Gen Zers who prefer life in the office
'Gen Lay-Z'. 'The WFH generation'. 'Nobody wants to work any more'. Depending on who you ask, Gen Z are the ultimate office refuseniks. Their early careers unfolded from bedrooms and kitchen tables, shaped by lockdowns and Zoom fatigue. The watercooler chat? Dead. Al desko lunches? Forgotten. Post-work drinks with the team? Fat chance. They were firmly hooked on back-to-back video calls, Slack pings and a digital nomad-esque life with Wi-Fi as the only real anchor. For love nor money nor free lunches, Britain's under-30s could not be tempted by face-to-face working. Or so bosses thought. Contrary to this narrative, plenty of Gen Z workers have been consistently coming into the office, even when most of their colleagues chose to stay at home. Tamara Salloum moved to London from Beirut three years ago to work at PR firm, ING Media. Although the company has recently mandated workers to go in three days a week in person, she's been a steadfast office devotee since her start date. 'I need that clear line between home and work,' she explains. 'In the office, I can brainstorm ideas, learn from seniors, collaborate across teams and clients and socialise. Then, when I'm home, it's just for decompressing and tuning out.' Although 28-year-old Salloum had worked in the sector before her move to the UK, she knew being in five days a week would help her adjust more quickly to the new culture and communication styles. There are more tangible pluses, too – she works across two monitors, from a proper chair and, as summer hots up, she's enjoying the building's air con. Financially, it makes more sense than working from home, as ING Media provides breakfast, snacks and coffees. Salloun spends around £6 a day on travel. An increasing number of Gen Z workers like Salloum are choosing to be in for most of the week, far more than older peers. A March survey of 12,000 workers in 44 countries by property group, JLL, found that workers aged 24 and under are more likely than any other generation to be in the office, and come in an average three days, compared to between 2.5 and 2.7 days among other generations. While commercial real estate companies like JLL have skin in the game in the return to office tussle, several other large surveys show similar shifts. In mid 2024, the urban policy research unit and charity, Centre for Cities, surveyed office attendance in six global cities, finding that in London, the youngest workers (aged 18-24) spent the most time working in the office each week on average. That's despite having the lowest mandated time in the office – 3.1 days on average, compared to four in Sydney, 3.6 in Singapore, 3.4 in New York and 3.3 in Toronto. This younger cohort of Londoners was also the most likely age group to say they work best in the office, at 43pc. There are signs the trend will extend to those who have yet to enter Britain's workforce, or are just starting out. Bright Network, which connects graduates and young professionals with recruiters in global companies, surveyed 15,000 UK students and found that six in 10 (59pc) of graduates want to go into the office five days a week. Of those who want to be in five days a week (31pc), there's been an increase of 6pc since last year. So, amid clamours of return to office mandates – with companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Boots and THG ordering staff back to the office for five days a week – why are some Gen Zers heading back of their own accord? And what does the younger cohort's boomerang move mean for the rest of the workforce? Against the backdrop of the 'working from home revolution' in the UK, it's easy to overlook a quieter crisis: the young people who missed out on fundamental, identity-shaping experiences during the pandemic – chances to make friends, build networks and find their footing in adult life. While older generations often relied on pre-existing communities, forged through university, long-term employment, hobbies or local ties, many younger adults had no such foundations in place. Can you miss what you never had? Perhaps – and the data suggests as much. A report by the think tank, Onward, shows that one in five Britons aged 18-24 have one or no close friends, a proportion that's tripled over the last decade. Supporting this trend, earlier figures show that those aged between 16 and 29 are at least twice as likely to report feeling lonely often, or always, than those over 70 (9.7pc versus 3.7pc). Courtney Boateng, entrepreneur and co-founder of To My Sisters, a community and podcast empowering women in academia and the workplace, believes Gen Z's appetite for the office is centred around 'community and the sense of belonging that comes with that'. Young people – herself included – see this as a way to accelerate faster in a career, not in a superficial or transactional way, but out of genuine connection. 'That's what people are seeking in so many areas of their life, and Gen Z wants that from the office,' says Boateng. Salloum, who has made close friends with her colleagues at ING Media, would agree. Many of her work buddies are of a similar age and like going to the Shoreditch site almost as much as her. 'We go on coffee runs and lunch together, and sit on the office terrace when the weather is good,' she says. There's a social committee which organises game nights, team quizzes and during Ramadan, a team iftar. She says she'd get FOMO if she stayed home. 'I'm lucky that I really like my colleagues, so I never worry it will be awkward or that we won't have things to talk about,' says Lewis White, 27, a research officer at the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. 'For me, there's no amount of Slack channels that can replicate the feeling of hanging out with people, and chatting while you work.' A psychology graduate, White began his career as a healthcare assistant at a men's psychiatric intensive care unit, and after three and a half years, began looking in the third sector. He was pleased to find a role that aligned so well with his interest in mental health, and after a six-month internship at the charity, White moved into a full-time position. Staff are required to be in the office at least two days a week, but White usually goes in for roughly three days – a number that might increase when the office relocates from central London to east London, where he can cycle easily from home. The stereotype that Gen Z is universally work-shy has seeped into the workplace. According to Statista, a quarter of UK business owners and employers describe these younger workers as struggling with professional boundaries, displaying informality and being resistant to criticism – traits often mistaken for laziness, rather than signs of needing better support. Boateng believes that many Gen Z workers are simply under-equipped and eager for guidance. 'They want to be mentored, not just micromanaged,' she says, noting it's often far easier to achieve this in person. White, being new to the sector, appreciates the immediacy of in-office communication. 'If I need to run something by someone, I can pull them aside, bring my laptop over, and have a quick chat,' he explains. 'It cuts out the 5-10 minutes of messaging on Slack or setting up a Google Meet.' As these young people enter the workforce, Kirsten Barnes, chief executive of Bright Network, explains that they definitely see the office as 'the place to learn by osmosis and upskill in both soft and hard skills to propel them into the future'. Indeed, Bright Network's research found that the chance to learn from others remains the top reason young people want to go into the office (39pc), followed by the opportunity to build their networks (18pc), then teamwork and collaboration (11pc). Proximity to managers and senior leadership matters, too. 'Gen Zers don't expect to be best pals with the chief executive, but they shouldn't be these mystical figures at the top either,' says Boateng. She likens her generation to toddlers, always asking why. It can be annoying, she admits, but it stems from a genuine desire to understand the workplace and the complex systems within it. 'Asking the hard questions – and getting the hard answers – builds our understanding of the social environment, and helps us become more invested, mature contributors to a workplace.' Recent graduate Neel Shah works as a digital marketer for JDM Distributors and has to go into the office-cum-warehouse every day, although this suits him fine. 'I've never worked from home, but I'd get really lazy if I did,' says Shah, who begins his day with the gym at 5.30am, before heading home to change and then drive from Harrow to Watford for an 8am start. He handles JDM's email marketing, influencer collaborations, social media marketing and website, so if he's not in the office, he's managing or attending events and meeting with collaborators. Shah feels well-liked and trusted at work and that he's fulfilling the expectations made of him. Doing a five-day week on-site, he says, has helped him adjust quickly to working life after his degree. 'I feel lucky to have got an internship at JDM and then a job, because tons of my friends are still looking for any kind of permanent work,' he explains. 'I know lots who finished their degrees three or four years ago, but have only been able to find zero-hours contracts since then, which is scary when you're in so much debt from uni.' Under the thumb of intensifying labour market pressures, the outlook for graduates in Shah's cohort is far from rosy. With the threat of Trump's tariffs, and higher taxes for employers taking effect, job vacancies fell to the lowest level in nearly four years in April. It's understandable then, that rising numbers of younger workers would sacrifice working from home to secure a new role. According to a new analysis of over two million jobseekers by Flexa, 12pc fewer Gen Z job seekers listed 'location flexibility' as a key criteria for new roles in March, compared to the start of the year. By contrast, demand for location flexibility increased among all other age groups over the same time period. For the youngest Gen Zers fresh out of further education, the balance of power clearly sits with the employer. While around 59pc of UK professionals now work in a hybrid capacity, a four percentage point increase since 2024, according to Michael Page's Talent Trends Report 2025, many are anxious about the future of flexible working. Work arrangements consistently top candidate concerns during job interviews facilitated by Michael Page. These fears, however, may be misplaced. Despite bold declarations from high-profile chief executives calling for bums on seats, the data tells a different story. Research from King's College London shows remote work rates have held steady since 2022. Drawing on over a million Labour Force Survey records and 50,000 responses to the UK Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the study also found growing resistance to full-time office mandates. In 2025, half of UK employees said they'd consider leaving their job if forced back full-time – up from 40pc in 2022. The share who would quit on the spot has doubled, from 5pc to 10pc. 'Anyone facing a return to office mandate should hold their ground – resistance is more than reasonable,' says Professor Heejung Chung, director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership and lead author of the study. 'In the UK at least, flexibility is the norm – and will continue to be so.' For young professionals hoping to make themselves indispensable in a tough economy, the office can be a place for connection, mentorship and growth – but not at the cost of flexibility. White believes the appeal lies in having the option to work from home when needed. 'Several of my close friends still work in healthcare, and it's complicated – they're right to be jealous of my hybrid setup,' he says. 'When I was at the hospital, I felt the same way about anyone in an office job.' Salloum agrees that having flexibility is key: 'I love being in the office – but I also love having the option to work from home when I need to.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
16-06-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The hard-working Gen Zers who prefer life in the office
'Gen Lay-Z'. 'The WFH generation'. 'Nobody wants to work any more'. Depending on who you ask, Gen Z are the ultimate office refuseniks. Their early careers unfolded from bedrooms and kitchen tables, shaped by lockdowns and Zoom fatigue. The watercooler chat? Dead. Al desko lunches? Forgotten. Post-work drinks with the team? Fat chance. They were firmly hooked on back-to-back video calls, Slack pings and a digital nomad-esque life with Wi-Fi as the only real anchor. For love nor money nor free lunches, Britain's under-30s could not be tempted by face-to-face working. Or so bosses thought. Contrary to this narrative, plenty of Gen Z workers have been consistently coming into the office, even when most of their colleagues chose to stay at home. Tamara Salloum moved to London from Beirut three years ago to work at PR firm, ING Media. Although the company has recently mandated workers to go in three days a week in person, she's been a steadfast office devotee since her start date. 'I need that clear line between home and work,' she explains. 'In the office, I can brainstorm ideas, learn from seniors, collaborate across teams and clients and socialise. Then, when I'm home, it's just for decompressing and tuning out.' Although 28-year-old Salloum had worked in the sector before her move to the UK, she knew being in five days a week would help her adjust more quickly to the new culture and communication styles. There are more tangible pluses, too – she works across two monitors, from a proper chair and, as summer hots up, she's enjoying the building's air con. Financially, it makes more sense than working from home, as ING Media provides breakfast, snacks and coffees. Salloun spends around £6 a day on travel. An increasing number of Gen Z workers like Salloum are choosing to be in for most of the week, far more than older peers. A March survey of 12,000 workers in 44 countries by property group, JLL, found that workers aged 24 and under are more likely than any other generation to be in the office, and come in an average three days, compared to between 2.5 and 2.7 days among other generations. While commercial real estate companies like JLL have skin in the game in the return to office tussle, several other large surveys show similar shifts. In mid 2024, the urban policy research unit and charity, Centre for Cities, surveyed office attendance in six global cities, finding that in London, the youngest workers (aged 18-24) spent the most time working in the office each week on average. That's despite having the lowest mandated time in the office – 3.1 days on average, compared to four in Sydney, 3.6 in Singapore, 3.4 in New York and 3.3 in Toronto. This younger cohort of Londoners was also the most likely age group to say they work best in the office, at 43pc. There are signs the trend will extend to those who have yet to enter Britain's workforce, or are just starting out. Bright Network, which connects graduates and young professionals with recruiters in global companies, surveyed 15,000 UK students and found that six in 10 (59pc) of graduates want to go into the office five days a week. Of those who want to be in five days a week (31pc), there's been an increase of 6pc since last year. So, amid clamours of return to office mandates – with companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Boots and THG ordering staff back to the office for five days a week – why are some Gen Zers heading back of their own accord? And what does the younger cohort's boomerang move mean for the rest of the workforce? 'Slack channels can't replicate hanging out with people' Against the backdrop of the 'working from home revolution' in the UK, it's easy to overlook a quieter crisis: the young people who missed out on fundamental, identity-shaping experiences during the pandemic – chances to make friends, build networks and find their footing in adult life. While older generations often relied on pre-existing communities, forged through university, long-term employment, hobbies or local ties, many younger adults had no such foundations in place. Can you miss what you never had? Perhaps – and the data suggests as much. A report by the think tank, Onward, shows that one in five Britons aged 18-24 have one or no close friends, a proportion that's tripled over the last decade. Supporting this trend, earlier figures show that those aged between 16 and 29 are at least twice as likely to report feeling lonely often, or always, than those over 70 (9.7pc versus 3.7pc). Courtney Boateng, entrepreneur and co-founder of To My Sisters, a community and podcast empowering women in academia and the workplace, believes Gen Z's appetite for the office is centred around 'community and the sense of belonging that comes with that'. Young people – herself included – see this as a way to accelerate faster in a career, not in a superficial or transactional way, but out of genuine connection. 'That's what people are seeking in so many areas of their life, and Gen Z wants that from the office,' says Boateng. Salloum, who has made close friends with her colleagues at ING Media, would agree. Many of her work buddies are of a similar age and like going to the Shoreditch site almost as much as her. 'We go on coffee runs and lunch together, and sit on the office terrace when the weather is good,' she says. There's a social committee which organises game nights, team quizzes and during Ramadan, a team iftar. She says she'd get FOMO if she stayed home. 'I'm lucky that I really like my colleagues, so I never worry it will be awkward or that we won't have things to talk about,' says Lewis White, 27, a research officer at the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. 'For me, there's no amount of Slack channels that can replicate the feeling of hanging out with people, and chatting while you work.' A psychology graduate, White began his career as a healthcare assistant at a men's psychiatric intensive care unit, and after three and a half years, began looking in the third sector. He was pleased to find a role that aligned so well with his interest in mental health, and after a six-month internship at the charity, White moved into a full-time position. Staff are required to be in the office at least two days a week, but White usually goes in for roughly three days – a number that might increase when the office relocates from central London to east London, where he can cycle easily from home. Mentored, not micromanaged The stereotype that Gen Z is universally work-shy has seeped into the workplace. According to Statista, a quarter of UK business owners and employers describe these younger workers as struggling with professional boundaries, displaying informality and being resistant to criticism – traits often mistaken for laziness, rather than signs of needing better support. Boateng believes that many Gen Z workers are simply under-equipped and eager for guidance. 'They want to be mentored, not just micromanaged,' she says, noting it's often far easier to achieve this in person. White, being new to the sector, appreciates the immediacy of in-office communication. 'If I need to run something by someone, I can pull them aside, bring my laptop over, and have a quick chat,' he explains. 'It cuts out the 5-10 minutes of messaging on Slack or setting up a Google Meet.' As these young people enter the workforce, Kirsten Barnes, chief executive of Bright Network, explains that they definitely see the office as 'the place to learn by osmosis and upskill in both soft and hard skills to propel them into the future'. Indeed, Bright Network's research found that the chance to learn from others remains the top reason young people want to go into the office (39pc), followed by the opportunity to build their networks (18pc), then teamwork and collaboration (11pc). Proximity to managers and senior leadership matters, too. 'Gen Zers don't expect to be best pals with the chief executive, but they shouldn't be these mystical figures at the top either,' says Boateng. She likens her generation to toddlers, always asking why. It can be annoying, she admits, but it stems from a genuine desire to understand the workplace and the complex systems within it. 'Asking the hard questions – and getting the hard answers – builds our understanding of the social environment, and helps us become more invested, mature contributors to a workplace.' 'I'm lucky to have a job' Recent graduate Neel Shah works as a digital marketer for JDM Distributors and has to go into the office-cum-warehouse every day, although this suits him fine. 'I've never worked from home, but I'd get really lazy if I did,' says Shah, who begins his day with the gym at 5.30am, before heading home to change and then drive from Harrow to Watford for an 8am start. He handles JDM's email marketing, influencer collaborations, social media marketing and website, so if he's not in the office, he's managing or attending events and meeting with collaborators. Shah feels well-liked and trusted at work and that he's fulfilling the expectations made of him. Doing a five-day week on-site, he says, has helped him adjust quickly to working life after his degree. 'I feel lucky to have got an internship at JDM and then a job, because tons of my friends are still looking for any kind of permanent work,' he explains. 'I know lots who finished their degrees three or four years ago, but have only been able to find zero-hours contracts since then, which is scary when you're in so much debt from uni.' Under the thumb of intensifying labour market pressures, the outlook for graduates in Shah's cohort is far from rosy. With the threat of Trump's tariffs, and higher taxes for employers taking effect, job vacancies fell to the lowest level in nearly four years in April. It's understandable then, that rising numbers of younger workers would sacrifice working from home to secure a new role. According to a new analysis of over two million jobseekers by Flexa, 12pc fewer Gen Z job seekers listed 'location flexibility' as a key criteria for new roles in March, compared to the start of the year. By contrast, demand for location flexibility increased among all other age groups over the same time period. For the youngest Gen Zers fresh out of further education, the balance of power clearly sits with the employer. The spectre of RTO mandates While around 59pc of UK professionals now work in a hybrid capacity, a four percentage point increase since 2024, according to Michael Page's Talent Trends Report 2025, many are anxious about the future of flexible working. Work arrangements consistently top candidate concerns during job interviews facilitated by Michael Page. These fears, however, may be misplaced. Despite bold declarations from high-profile chief executives calling for bums on seats, the data tells a different story. Research from King's College London shows remote work rates have held steady since 2022. Drawing on over a million Labour Force Survey records and 50,000 responses to the UK Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes, the study also found growing resistance to full-time office mandates. In 2025, half of UK employees said they'd consider leaving their job if forced back full-time – up from 40pc in 2022. The share who would quit on the spot has doubled, from 5pc to 10pc. 'Anyone facing a return to office mandate should hold their ground – resistance is more than reasonable,' says Professor Heejung Chung, director of the Global Institute for Women's Leadership and lead author of the study. 'In the UK at least, flexibility is the norm – and will continue to be so.' For young professionals hoping to make themselves indispensable in a tough economy, the office can be a place for connection, mentorship and growth – but not at the cost of flexibility. White believes the appeal lies in having the option to work from home when needed. 'Several of my close friends still work in healthcare, and it's complicated – they're right to be jealous of my hybrid setup,' he says. 'When I was at the hospital, I felt the same way about anyone in an office job.' Salloum agrees that having flexibility is key: 'I love being in the office – but I also love having the option to work from home when I need to.'
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bedford Mayor wants council staff in the office three days a week
Council staff will be expected to work at least three days a week from the office as part of a new policy, a mayor said. Conservative Tom Wootton confirmed it would apply to "office-based crews" only at Bedford Council, after some workers felt "very lonely". He told BBC Three Counties Radio presenter Jonathan Vernon-Smith that "asking them to come in to work as part of a team was really important".He added that the change was part of a Stability Plan that had originally been discussed at a meeting of its executive in April. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic saw many people working from home, and figures from the Office for National Statistics suggested more than a quarter of working adults in Great Britain were still hybrid working in autumn posted on social media that he was reversing what he called the previous administration's "lax approach to remote working".He said "collaboration, visibility and a strong workplace culture matter" and claimed that "you do not build that on Teams calls from the sofa"."This is part of my Stability Plan, a broader mission to drive up productivity, professionalism, and pride in public service," he wrote. "The future of this council rests on a high-performance culture where openness and innovation are not just buzzwords, they are daily practice. Residents expect more. We are raising the bar."Wootton told the JVS show "that asking the authorities 1,740 full-time staff to come in three days a week was a nice compromise" as "everybody used to come in" and "never thought anything of it".He added he "loved Teams calls" for speaking to people outside the borough, but that there was a "time and a place for them", and "getting together and talking with people you are working with" was also important. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Forbes
28-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Fireproof Your Organization: Turn Down The Heat On Urgency Culture
There's a Maxell cassette tape commercial from the 80s where a man's hair is blown back by the power of the playback. That vision comes to mind when I think about the work experience so many people are having today. Except it's not a cassette tape causing our hair to stand on end. It's one emergency after another. Urgency culture is a term used to describe the pervasiveness of the ASAP, 'I need this yesterday' mindset in the modern workplace. Once we had the tools to reply instantly, the expectation that we would soon followed. Now, employees feel constantly under pressure to work at a fast and furious pace despite the well-documented negative consequences. An urgency culture often leads to: Fortunately, leaders can fireproof their teams by taking a few simple actions: One of the leaders I admire most made it a point to publicly and proudly leave the office at 4pm every day. She would work on the commuter train on the way home, but she never displayed any shame for setting a healthy boundary around her departure time. Leadership behavior sets the tone. By providing a few points of additional guidance with a 'quick question,' you can spare your team the frantic activity that accompanies unclear requests. Including language such as 'back of the envelope' or 'don't spend more than 20 minutes on this' helps your team calibrate what you're asking of them. There's nothing worse than finding out after the fact that you destroyed someone's weekend by asking what you thought was a simple question. It's easy to think that 'the team knows what the priorities are' after they have been shared once or twice. But the reality is that there's often a big gap between goals on paper and how people spend their time and energy. Help them focus on what matters by communicating it frequently. For example, 'Our only priority right now is clearing the backlog of customer issues. If it's not directly addressing a customer concern, put it on hold for now.' Leadership is a stressful job, but unfortunately, emotions are contagious. When you are able to keep a cool head under pressure, it helps your team do the same. Before responding to an urgent demand from above, take a deep breath, and try and understand their reasoning. If it is truly urgent, negotiate the trade-offs on other priorities that may be required to deliver on it. If you need to loop in your team, make sure to tell them why it is urgent and how they can also prioritize in order to help get it done. Everything is a fire drill, whether it needs to be or not. Helping your team slow down will improve their thinking, their experience, and ultimately, their outcomes.
The Guardian
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
UK employees work from home more than most global rivals, study finds
UK workers continue to work from home more than nearly any of their global counterparts more than five years after the pandemic first disrupted traditional office life, a study has found. UK employees now average 1.8 days a week of remote working, above the international average of 1.3 days, according to the Global Survey of Working Arrangements (G-SWA), a worldwide poll of more than 16,000 full-time, university-educated workers across Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa that began in July 2021. Hybrid working patterns – in which the week is split between the office and another remote location such as home – have become established as the dominant model in advanced economies for staff who are able to carry out their roles remotely. This is particularly true in English-speaking countries including the UK, US, Canada and Australia, according to the most recent G-SWA, which was conducted between November 2024 and February 2025. Conversely, such arrangements are rare in east Asia, where office-centric culture prevails, and most full-time workers in Japan and South Korea still commute daily to the office. The popularity of home working in the UK has previously been attributed to the cost and length of commuting, particularly in London and south-east England. 'This isn't just a post-pandemic hangover – British workers have clearly decided they're not going back to the old ways. Remote work has moved from being an emergency response to becoming a defining feature of the UK labour market,' said Dr Cevat Giray Aksoy, a G-SWA co-founder and associate professor at King's College London. 'This shift is forcing businesses, policymakers, and city planners to reimagine everything from office space to transport to regional growth,' added Aksoy, who is also an associate research director at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Despite the introduction of strict return-to-office mandates at a handful of large companies, including the retail company Amazon and the asset management firm BlackRock, home working levels have stabilised in the UK since 2023, in what the researchers called a 'labour market equilibrium'. Men and women work from home at similar rates in every leading region of the world, the study found, although the desire for home working is strongest among women with children. Parents surveyed said they were more likely to adopt hybrid work, while those without children prefer either fully office-based or fully remote working models. Younger respondents showed a stronger preference for working from the office, as a way to get noticed by senior colleagues, or to learn informally from their peers. 'Hybrid work is no longer the exception, it's the expectation,' Aksoy said, adding that the research had not found any strong evidence that remote work came at the cost of productivity for organisations. This could not, however, be said for fully remote roles. 'Its impact on productivity varies dramatically depending on the type of job and how it's managed,' Aksoy said. 'In many cases, fully remote roles are concentrated in call centres or data entry, jobs that are already under pressure from automation and AI.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion The findings came as a separate poll from King's College found less than half (42%) of workers would comply with an employer's requirement for them to return to the office full-time, compared with 54% in early 2022. Women and parents were most likely to resist strict return mandates, researchers at the Global Institute for Women's Leadership at King's and its business school found. By late 2024, 55% of women said they would seek a new job if required to return to the office full-time. Researchers have previously suggested that some companies have issued strict return-to-office mandates as a way to shed excess staff hired under fully remote arrangements during the pandemic.
