Following lead of Canada, UK employees log average of 1.8 days at home each week
Employees in the United Kingdom are leading Europe in their adoption of remote working, logging an average of 1.8 days at home each week — well ahead of the global norm of 1.3 days.
This insight comes from the latest findings of the Global Survey of Working Arrangements conducted by King’s College London (KCL), which surveyed 16,000 participants across 40 countries.
According to The Times, the UK ranks just behind Canada globally, where professionals average 1.9 days of remote work per week. The results highlight the extent to which UK workers have reshaped their professional lives since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with remote work transitioning from a temporary fix to a long-term norm.
The study underscores a broader shift in employee attitudes: more than half of British white-collar workers surveyed indicated they would rather quit than return to a traditional five-day office schedule.
“This isn’t just a post-pandemic hangover — British workers have clearly decided they’re not going back to the old ways,” said Cevat Giray Aksoy, associate professor of economics at KCL. “Remote work has moved from being an emergency response to becoming a defining feature of the UK labour market.”
These sentiments come at a time when global companies, particularly in financial services, are beginning to reverse flexible working policies. As The Times reports, firms such as BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and JP Morgan are asking employees to return to offices full-time. Other industries are following suit, with employers like Dell, Amazon, WPP, and Boots also rolling back hybrid options.
However, employee pushback is notable. Another KCL survey found that 58% of UK-based white-collar staff would either resign immediately or begin job hunting if mandated to return to the office full-time.
“Rather than forcing a return to pre-pandemic working patterns, organisations should be looking to formalise hybrid models,” said Heejung Chung, professor of work and employment at KCL. “Importantly, those who are able to work remotely tend to be more loyal and committed to their jobs.”
Despite employer efforts to reinstate pre-2020 office norms, a disconnect persists between executive expectations and employee preferences. KPMG research cited by The Times reveals that 83% of CEOs anticipate a full return to office work by 2027. Yet, workers across Western economies remain resistant to this shift.
In contrast, countries in East Asia have largely reinstated traditional office culture. According to KCL, employees in Japan and South Korea now average less than one remote day per week, reflecting a cultural commitment to in-person work.
Aksoy, however, believes that remote and hybrid work will remain entrenched in the West. UK data indicates that home working, after a brief decline in 2023, has stabilized and is unlikely to diminish anytime soon.
“Hybrid work is no longer the exception — it’s the expectation,” he said. “Workers in the UK are using remote work not just for convenience, but as a way to rethink their priorities — whether that’s spending time with family, avoiding long commutes, or living further from expensive city centres.”
