[UK] 73% of employees would sacrifice salary for a four-day week

New research has revealed that three quarters (73 per cent) of UK employees would be willing to sacrifice some of their salary to work a four-day week, People Management reports.

Owl Labs’s State of Hybrid Work report polled 2,000 full-time employees in the UK. The result was 8 per cent higher than in 2023 (65 per cent).

Owl Labs reportedly found that a similar proportion (76 per cent) would take a pay cut for flexible working hours and 74 per cent of respondents favour hybrid work over being in the office full time or working entirely remotely.

If forced to return to the office, nearly half (47 per cent) of workers said they would look for a new job which offered more flexibility in where and when they worked.

A further 17 per cent of workers reportedly said they would expect a pay rise if they were told to return to the office full time.

A separate KPMG survey recently showed that CEOs were aware of these attitudes, with 81 per cent of UK bosses stating that they were likely to reward employees who came into the office. 

A majority (51 per cent) of employees participating in the survey had a hybrid working pattern - from 46 per cent in 2023 - with one in four (26 per cent) saying their companies had changed these policies in the past year.

According to the research, the most common number of in-office days for hybrid workers was three, with 35 per cent working this pattern. However, only 25 per cent of respondents cited this as their preference, 30 per cent said they preferred two office days.

Employees were revealed to be prioritising their work-life balance in other ways, with a fifth (19 per cent) enforcing firmer boundaries by not taking on work that failed to fit their job description. The top reason employees gave for seeking a new job was to gain a better work-life balance. Half (50 per cent) gave this reason, an increase from 41 per cent in 2023. 

The results come ahead of the UK government’s introduction of the ‘right to switch off’, giving employees the right not to engage with work correspondence, such as emails, phone calls and instant messages, outside working hours. 

Source: People Management

(Links via original reporting)

New research has revealed that three quarters (73 per cent) of UK employees would be willing to sacrifice some of their salary to work a four-day week, People Management reports.

Owl Labs’s State of Hybrid Work report polled 2,000 full-time employees in the UK. The result was 8 per cent higher than in 2023 (65 per cent).

Owl Labs reportedly found that a similar proportion (76 per cent) would take a pay cut for flexible working hours and 74 per cent of respondents favour hybrid work over being in the office full time or working entirely remotely.

If forced to return to the office, nearly half (47 per cent) of workers said they would look for a new job which offered more flexibility in where and when they worked.

A further 17 per cent of workers reportedly said they would expect a pay rise if they were told to return to the office full time.

A separate KPMG survey recently showed that CEOs were aware of these attitudes, with 81 per cent of UK bosses stating that they were likely to reward employees who came into the office. 

A majority (51 per cent) of employees participating in the survey had a hybrid working pattern - from 46 per cent in 2023 - with one in four (26 per cent) saying their companies had changed these policies in the past year.

According to the research, the most common number of in-office days for hybrid workers was three, with 35 per cent working this pattern. However, only 25 per cent of respondents cited this as their preference, 30 per cent said they preferred two office days.

Employees were revealed to be prioritising their work-life balance in other ways, with a fifth (19 per cent) enforcing firmer boundaries by not taking on work that failed to fit their job description. The top reason employees gave for seeking a new job was to gain a better work-life balance. Half (50 per cent) gave this reason, an increase from 41 per cent in 2023. 

The results come ahead of the UK government’s introduction of the ‘right to switch off’, giving employees the right not to engage with work correspondence, such as emails, phone calls and instant messages, outside working hours. 

Source: People Management

(Links via original reporting)