Nine in 10 (87%) employees would sacrifice pay for a workplace experience they felt was worth the commute, according to research by facilities and engineering firm ABM.
Its How modern workplaces win report, commissioned in partnership with Cracked Agency, explores the forces reshaping the modern workplace, the growing gap between mandates and experience, and what organisations can do to build offices that employees genuinely want to return to.
It combined desktop research with a survey of more than 500 full-time office workers, aged 18-64 years, across the UK, US, and Ireland. This spanned multiple industries and seniority levels, with all respondents working on-site between two and five days per week.
The research revealed that while employees are not opposed to office life, they are clear about what it needs to offer, as 85% of respondents said they would willingly spend more time in the office if the right facilities were in place.
Furthermore, more than four-fifths agreed that a great office space directly improves organisational culture.
In addition, UK respondents aged 35-to-55 years had the highest rate of hybrid working, while 16 to 24-year-olds had the lowest. Nine in 10 remote-capable employees said they prefer some remote work flexibility, with the majority preferring hybrid work, while eight in 10 are currently hybrid or fully remote.
Three-quarters (76%) said an improved work-life balance was an advantage of hybrid working, while 61% had less burnout or fatigue at work and 52% had higher productivity.
Simon Barnes, vice president of sales and marketing at ABM, said: “The data is clear: people are not opposed to the office. They are opposed to the obligation. When you look beneath the surface, there is enormous goodwill; the majority of people being willing to trade salary for a better experience is not a minor statistic. That is a workforce telling us exactly what they need. The question is whether organisations are listening.”
