Office Freedom - UK Worker’s Survey November 2024

With worker's attitudes changing a lot in the last few years, from experiencing a global pandemic to a whole new dynamic of working from home, workers' attitudes within the UK have certainly changed from where they were five years ago.

Even before the pandemic, work attitudes were starting to shift but since we came out of lockdown there has been an accelerated move towards changing the landscape of what workers want from their office jobs.

In light of this, we wanted to reveal as much detail as possible about UK workers' changing attitudes. We surveyed over 1,000 participants nationwide to explore the key issues and themes workers are currently facing - and what they would like to see change.

The survey was broken down into regions, age, gender, and occupation splits, ensuring a focus on office-based workers - and the results turned up some trends that will be food for thought of companies across the country.

Q1. Out of the following, which do you think should be made the law for working in a job, if any? (Respondents could select all that apply)

Flexible Working Hours	44.80%	448
Guaranteed Sick Leave	34.80%	348
Automatic overtime pay when working beyond normal hours	31.30%	313
Right to switch off outside working hours	30.20%	302
Right to work from home	28.80%	288
Option for a four day working week	27.80%	278
Health and Wellness Benefits (e.g., gym membership, counselling)	27.00%	270
Paid Parental Leave	26.40%	264
Paid Mental Health Days	25.00%	250
Environmentally Sustainable Practices	18.00%	180
Season ticket advance for travel costs	13.70%	137
None of the above	7.10%	71

Q2. Out of the following, which seasonal benefits (e.g. time off around Christmas) would you most value from your employer, if any? (Respondents could select up to 3)

	All
Flexible working hours during the holiday season (e.g early finish on Christmas Eve)	43.20%
Additional time off during winter holidays (e.g., Christmas, New Year)	37.10%
Extended time off during summer holidays	26.70%
Access to seasonal events or activities (e.g., summer picnics, winter parties)	18.80%
Childcare support during school breaks/holidays	15.90%
Discounts for seasonal events or activities (e.g., ski passes, amusement parks)	15.30%
Company-sponsored trips or retreats in different seasons	15.10%
Paid volunteer days during holiday seasons	14.50%
None of the above	10.10%

Q3. What facilities/perks, if any, do you think any office should supply as standard? (Respondents could select all that apply)

	All
Salary	44.10%
Job Security	34.20%
Flexible Working Hours	33.50%
Annual Leave	32.00%
Health and Wellness Benefits	18.80%
Mental Health Support	17.70%
Career Progression Opportunities	16.20%
Professional Development and Training	15.90%
Sustainability	12.30%
Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives	10.80%
N/A None in particular	3.40%
Not sure	2.40%
Other, please specify	0.00%

Q5. Do you expect your workplace to be closed between Christmas and New Year, and not to have that time off deducted from your holiday allowance?

	All
Yes	60.40%
No	33.40%
Not sure	6.20%

Q6. With the budget placing more expense on employers, would you be willing to accept a small cut in pay to help meet the costs?

	All
Yes	35.20%
No	50.50%
Not sure	14.30%

Q7. How significant or insignificant, if at all, do you feel travel costs are when choosing where to work and what job to take?

	All	Count
Significant Factor (Net)	75.60%	756
Very significant factor	31.50%	315
Somewhat significant factor	44.10%	441
Neither a significant nor insignificant factor	19.40%	194
Somewhat insignificant factor	3.50%	35
Very insignificant factor	1.50%	15
Insignificant Factor (Net)	5.00%	50

Q8. To what extent, if at all, do you agree with the following statement: I feel my current role provides adequate annual leave and pay in comparison to the rising cost of living.

	All	Count
Agree (Net)	67.10%	671
Strongly agree	23.00%	230
Somewhat agree	44.10%	441
Neither agree nor disagree	22.60%	226
Somewhat disagree	6.90%	69
Strongly disagree	3.40%	34
Disagree (Net)	10.30%	103

Q9. What mental health support in the workplace, if any, is the most important to you? (Respondents could select one)

Flexible work hours for mental health needs	15.80%
N/A No mental health support in particular	15.30%
Mental health training for managers and staff	11.20%
Regular mental health check-ins with supervisors	10.80%
Wellness programs focusing on mental health (i.e stress management workshops)	9.70%
Counselling/Therapist Sessions	8.40%
Paid mental health days	8.20%
Access to mental health apps or tools	7.80%
Anonymous feedback channels for mental health concerns	6.70%
Not sure	6.10%
Other, please specify	0.00%

Q10. What, if anything, would you like your employer to provide to help meet the pressures of the cost-of-living increasing? (Respondents could select all that apply)

	All
Link annual pay rise to the rate of inflation	36.10%
Provide free lunch to all staff	28.20%
Contribute to travel costs	24.80%
Increase the employer contribution to pension schemes	24.80%
Shoulder all the NIC rise without cutting wages	19.10%
Provide childcare support	16.80%
Provide annual season ticket loan for travel	14.60%
N/A Nothing in particular	9.40%
Not sure	5.00%
Other, please specify	0.20%