More than half of UK (52%) employees said they feel closer to their families and enjoy a better work-life balance after working from home due to the Covid-19 (Coronvirus) pandemic, according to research from Future Strategy Club (FSC).
The study also found that those employees want to continue home working in some capacity in the future.
The pandemic has also made employees review how they spent their time before lockdown: 40% said they realise they had a poor work-life balance and will not return to it after Covid. Nearly a quarter (23%) of working parents said their employer was unsympathetic to them having to manage childcare around work during the crisis.
The pandemic has led to some employees considering a career change: two-thirds (34%) said that the situation has encouraged them to look at consultancy, freelance work or starting their own business as an alternative.
Justin Small, CEO and Founder of Future Strategy Club, said: “Lockdown and the way that we see work has changed immeasurably and surprisingly quickly throughout the course of 2020 and into 2021.
“Working from home and flexible working was already growing in popularity but the past year has put that growth on steroids. [Covid-19] showed all the worse parts of the traditional working structure so it is not surprising so many people have wanted to make changes to their environments permanently.
“[Employers] need to be careful to accommodate their employees’ needs and concerns otherwise, talented individuals will be drawn towards going it alone or jumping ship, causing repercussions for businesses that may be on the edge of surviving and going under.”