UK job seekers looking for office-based roles are most interested in positions that have clear hybrid working rules, provide home office equipment and offer career development opportunities. These are the findings from O.C. Tanner’s 2022 Global Culture Report which analysed the perspectives of over 38,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and executives from 21 countries around the world, including over 2,500 from the U.K.
64 per cent of the UK workers surveyed prioritised the need for hybrid working guidelines when considering a new job, with clear rules on when they would be expected to be available.
“With a record number of workers leaving their jobs for new opportunities, job seekers are eager to find roles that support hybrid working”, says Robert Ordever, Managing Director of workplace culture expert, O.C. Tanner Europe. “However the majority of job seekers aren’t prepared to take a hybrid working role without clarity around their availability when remote working. Understandably, employees want to set ground rules to prevent the blurring of lines between work life and home life.”
And by setting clear hybrid working expectations, this benefits both the employer and employee, with 11 per cent greater employee burnout and a 12 per cent higher probability of workers taking more time off, when employees struggle to separate their work and home life.
The need for employers to offer home office equipment was second on the list of priorities for UK job seekers (highlighted by 63 per cent of respondents) with career development opportunities a close third (mentioned by 60 per cent of respondents).
Ordever says, “Today’s job seekers aren’t willing to sacrifice career development opportunities for greater flexibility with where they work. They still expect employers to provide opportunities for growth and development and so leaders must figure out how to best deliver this, especially when their people are physically apart.”
The Report reveals that those employers that are able to prioritise career development for hybrid workers and reimagine how to best deliver it, will see increased likelihood of employee engagement (+115 per cent), and so it’s a challenge worth addressing.
Other important considerations for UK job seekers include the need for flexibility around number of days working from home (mentioned by 59 per cent of respondents) and the provision of mental health services (cited by 58 per cent of UK workers). Interestingly, childcare benefits was only mentioned by 42 per cent of workers as an important factor when considering a new job.
Ordever adds, “Office-based job seekers are now expecting hybrid working to be the norm. This means that home working rules and logistics together with how they can further their careers at a distance, are front of mind considerations when looking for a new job. Traditional considerations such as child care benefits have simply dropped down the priority list.”
