Missing office life
Our poll of 1,000 British private sector employees, of which 728 worked in an office pre-pandemic, shed a new light on how the majority of us currently view our working life. Readers might be surprised to learn that 39% of those polled reported that, as of February 2021, they were already back in the office in some capacity – and almost a quarter (23%) expect to return to the office this year. Only 8% expect a return date in either 2022 or not to return to the office at all.
When we asked respondents whether they missed any aspects of office life it seems, rather unsurprisingly, those daily interactions were very much missed. Socialising with colleagues, such as coffee breaks or after-work outings, was the most popular feature missed (51%), followed by missing the ease of communication with colleagues (46%). There are clear signs, too, that Zoom fatigue is well and truly setting in, with a third of respondents missing in-person meetings.