UK employees least motivated to work from home

UK employees working from home are finding it more difficult to stay motivated compared to their European counterparts, according to recent research.

The survey, commissioned by enterprise management cloud specialists Workday and carried out by Yonder Consulting, spanned nine European countries and interviewed more than 2,000 employees in each country. It found that nearly half of those polled (46%) feel challenged to motivate themselves for work, with those living in the UK (53%) most affected. In addition, UK respondents (47%) were more likely to agree their chances for personal growth had been reduced last year by having to work from home.

The research also showed that a quarter (23%) of people who worked from home during 2020 agreed the change in working environment had a negative impact on company culture; those employees living in the Netherlands (30%) or Sweden (29%) were most likely to feel this way.

Only two in five (41%) of those surveyed report feeling satisfied at the end of a typical working week, with people in the Netherlands (57%) typically most satisfied and those in Italy (31%) least.

In addition, almost a third (31%) said they feel trapped in their current role due to economic uncertainty, rising to almost half (49%) of all respondents in Spain, according to the research.

Overall employees are not optimistic about the likelihood of receiving a pay increase in the next 12 months. Just three in 10 (30%) believe their salary will grow in the next year, the research found.

Manfred Abraham, co-CEO of Yonder, said that workplace culture is going to become increasingly important as staff deal with the fall out of the pandemic. “For business leaders understanding how the workforce is feeling is critical, which is why we were delighted to partner with Workday to carry out this study.”