​We all know, over the last two years’ working from home has become increasingly popular. The thought of returning to the workplace is on the minds of business leaders and of course, not to mention employees.

As businesses reopen their physical spaces, we’ve seen many employers choosing to retain some level of remote working, whether that be 2/3 days back in the office or 1/2 days at home. Most employees who can work from home now have an effective office set-up at home and if we received anything over the pandemic, it was proven that remote work can be effective. Whilst remote workers have maintained productivity at home, they may have lost the sense of personal contact and connectedness they need to flourish. Hybrid working is a way in which employers can tick all the boxes for their employees.

However, many employees and candidates alike are starting to ‘assert their power’ at a time when many bosses are struggling to recruit. You may have seen BBC news recently reported on the accounting giant PwC’s UK workforce survey. In which 60% of skilled workers say they would prefer to work fully or mostly from home.

The survey also reported that almost, 20% of UK workers expect to quit in the next 12 months. They surveyed over 2000 respondents and found one in five workers are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months as they seek better pay and job satisfaction. Here at SoCode we are also starting to see a similar trend when speaking to our candidates and clients.

The survey that PwC undertook also found that 10% said they were very or extremely likely to switch to a new employer within the next 12 months. 32% also said they were moderately or slightly likely to switch and 16% were planning to leave the workforce temporarily or permanently. Going hand in hand with this was that many say an increase in pay was the main motivator for changing jobs (72%) followed by wanting a more fulfilling job (68%) and to ‘truly be themselves at work’.

Aside from the survey, there are of course several factors now at play that are likely to be on the minds of workers; the rise of fuel/energy prices and the overall general cost of living.

How can employers retain their employees?