In the week that Investors in People revealed employees are looking for more flexible employment, a new study has found that a third (33%) of UK workers expect they will have greater flexibility around working from home or from the office in the coming decade. A further third (33%) of workers also said that they think by 2025 the Monday to Friday working week will become redundant.
The Workforces 2025 report released by TalkTalk Business and conducted by YouGov, also found that 59% of bosses will encourage employees to work in a way that offers them the best work-life balance.
The report also revealed:
- 42% of workers claim evolving routines driven by new technologies spell the demise of the 9-5 in the next 10 years
- That said, over a third (39%) believe there will still be a need for a permanent office building, but just under a quarter (23%) think offices will be a lot smaller
- Despite the expectation that AI, automation and other technologies will increase in the future, driving working routines to evolve, almost half (47%) of British employees believe they will still be working the same number of hours in the future
- 30% of employers are concerned that the shifting nature of working behaviours could make collaboration more challenging
Duncan Gooding, Interim MD at TalkTalk Business, comments:
“Whilst working routines are going to evolve further, bringing the end of Monday to Friday, this does not need to come at the expense of business growth. There has never been a better opportunity to meet employee needs for greater flexibility, through leveraging technology. By understanding what is happening and helping drive the evolution of the workplace, businesses can supercharge their productivity and do more for less, faster than ever before.”
Despite advances in robotics and artificial intelligence, only 15% of British business leaders believe they will need less employees. Moreover, 1 in 5 (20%) decision makers want to use technologies to empower employees to support them in their tasks.
Graeme Codrington, Futurist to TalkTalk Business, comments:
“Technology continues to increase worker productivity, helping standards of living improve as working hours have gone down. Still, as TalkTalk Business’ survey reveals, this is not a trend that today’s employees are seeing, as we are entering the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Both employers and employees need to realise that the technology is there to make their working lives easier and more enjoyable. Advances in machine learning and AI enable employees to get more done in less time, helping them achieve that elusive work-life balance they hear so much about.”
To download the most recent chapters of the TalkTalk Business Workforces 2025 report visit:
Or you can view the entire TalkTalk Business Workforces 2025 reports: www.talktalkbusiness.co.uk/workforces2025
