Four-fifths of region 's firms intend to retain home working - survey

A new study has revealed that 80 per cent of business leaders in the West Midlands intend to retain some element of home working once the current 'work at home ' guidelines are abolished.

The research conducted by Sutton Coldfield HR specialists HR Caddy also found that more than a fifth of employers in the region now support the entirety of their employees working remotely or from home.

The firm surveyed 241 business leaders and senior managers to explore how their plans had changed as a result of the pandemic.

Although only 69 per cent of businesses supported some element of home working prior to Covid-19, this figure has now risen to 80 per cent.

Even in those businesses, who previously offered home or remote working, the percentage of the workforce that will be permitted to work from home after the rules change has increased.

For example, the figures show that only two per cent of businesses allowed 70 per cent of their staff to work from home before the pandemic.

However, now six per cent of businesses expect this percentage of employees to work from home in future - triple the number prior to the coronavirus crisis.

Similar increases can be seen across the survey, as a higher proportion of employers implement permanent remote and home working policies.

Nicola Callaghan (pictured), managing director at HR Caddy, said: “The survey shows that more and more employers are choosing to allow a higher percentage of their workforce to operate remotely.

“This is not only a landmark shift in working arrangements for the region, but it could have a wider impact on the prosperity of our town and city centres, where many businesses are based, which could lead to shifts in the size and distribution of workplaces in future.

“Considering the changes that seem to be afoot, employers need to review their workplace policies, support employees that are continuing to work from home and think about their future recruitment practices, as this shift may mean that a higher number of candidates prefer or expect the option to work remotely once the pandemic ends. ”

The latest data from HR Caddy also shows that the region 's fast-growing financial services sector may have seen the most significant change, as 12.5 per cent more businesses now support the entirety of their workforce working remotely or from home.

However, the sector where the highest proportion of employees enjoy home working is the accountancy industry, with 40 per cent of employers allowing their whole workforce to work remotely -18 per cent higher than the regional average and 10 per cent up on pre-pandemic levels.

“The results seem to indicate that certain sectors are favouring ongoing home working beyond the current situation, mainly those that involve office work, such as IT and Telecoms, accountancy, financial services and media, marketing, advertising and sales, ” said Nicola.

“This is perhaps not surprising, given that many of these roles only require access to a computer and the right technology, which many businesses have already invested in due to the pandemic. ”

When it comes to new work patterns, businesses seem to favour their staff working five days a week at home (21 per cent) or two days at the workplace and the rest of the week at home (22 per cent).