Eupnea Survey for UK Employees – December 2021
Accelerating the need to balance work-life better.
Pandemic explained.
Eupnea Insights
The work environment of employees in most businesses has significantly changed from the outset of the pandemic and through its course. Today in the aftermath of it, while the possibility of restrictions being reimposed in our society is rising for tackling the spread of a new variant, these changes persist and our research corroborates that they may have lasting effects in where and how we choose to work forever.
Key findings
– Remote working is still broadly applied to how we do work today while the number of employees working in a physical workplace only is still noticeably below pre-pandemic levels
– Businesses need to consider that the current work environment of many employees provides remote working or working in the office as stand alone solutions which are significantly less preferred
– A hybrid workplace is the most preferred work environment setting by employees today and remote working as a component of it widely more favorable than working in the office
– Remote working was applied due to the pandemic proportionally to a much broader number of employees in the public sector than the private sector. In the private sector, the pandemic had a much greater impact on the work environment of employees of larger SME businesses, however large businesses fared better than medium-sized businesses, pointing to more effective crisis management
Learn more
How many days in average in a week were you working from home prior to the pandemic?
56%
13%
of employees had never worked from home prior to the pandemic
of employees had always or almost always worked from home
How would you describe the extent of change of your work environment during the pandemic?
26%
58%
of employees across all businesses totally changed their work environment during the pandemic. Employees of SME businesses with less staff had to change significantly less where they worked
of employees of small businesses that the pandemic had no impact on where they worked
63%
of employees in the public sector changed totally or extensively where they worked due to the pandemic compared to 37% of employees in the private sector
How satisfied are you with the frequency and clarity of communication with your employer for changes related to the workplace and your working arrangements?
7 in 10
employees are very satisfied or satisfied with the frequency and clarity of communication with their employer for changes related to the workplace and their working arrangements
How satisfied are you with the level of flexibility and support provided by your employer following changes related to the workplace?
2/3rds
of employees are very satisfied or satisfied with the level of flexibility and support provided by their employer following changes related to the workplace
How would you describe your current work environment?
47%
27%
of employees work in their physical workplace only, still noticeably below pre-pandemic levels
of employees have not returned to the office, either as part of a hybrid workplace or their physical workplace, and work totally remotely
Which type of work environment would you prefer today?
44%
19%
of employees would prefer to work in a hybrid workplace, compared to 23% that it is today. Remote Working or Physical Workplace as stand alone alternatives are significantly less preferred.
of employees would prefer to work remotely all time, less than 27% presently
4.2
times more among employees of large businesses would prefer more remote working in a hybrid workplace, compared to 2.3 times more among employees of SME businesses