Close to Half of Employees Would Rather Resign Than Go Back to the Office

Survey respondents reported that office environments induced stress and anxiety, and commuting costs were high.

A new study of over 1,000 UK workers found that more than 40% of employees would consider quitting if required to return to the office full-time. Despite 92% of companies enforcing some form of in-office policy, and some high-profile examples pushing to end remote work, nearly a quarter of respondents indicated they would seriously consider leaving if forced to return full-time.

The survey highlighted that financial strain, mental health issues, poor diet, decreased fitness levels, and disrupted work-life balance are the main reasons many prefer the option to work from home.

TKO for RTO?

A survey of 1,001 workers conducted by eLearning company Skillshub aimed to “discover how RTO is impacting UK employees, across positives and negatives.”

The results showed that 42.6% of respondents would consider quitting if their employer mandated full-time RTO, with over half of those—22.7% of all respondents—saying they would "strongly consider" leaving under those conditions.

Additionally, 18% would potentially leave if hybrid working with three or more days in the office was required, and 14.6% would consider quitting if any office time was mandatory.

“RTO (return to work) is on the rise, with 2023 being named the ‘Year of the Great Office Return’, where 92% of companies enforced some sort of mandatory in-office policy. This has further continued into 2024,” stated Skillshub.

The Pros and Cons of Office Work

The survey also asked respondents about their biggest dislikes and most valued aspects of working in the office.

Nearly a quarter of respondents (22.5%) cited the financial impact of office work, such as commuting and buying lunch, as a significant negative. Stress and anxiety were reported by 19.7%, while 19.5% said office work negatively affected their diet, 17.4% their work/life balance, and 16.1% their fitness levels.

Conversely, 31.3% of respondents felt that office work positively impacted their mental health, making it the most popular benefit. Additionally, 22.6% appreciated the social interactions with colleagues, 19.5% noted improvements in physical health, 12.8% mentioned increased productivity, and 11.3% valued career progression and work opportunities.

Skillshub noted that the survey results were similar across genders, except in terms of productivity. While 13.5% of male respondents felt their productivity improved with office work, only 12.1% of female respondents shared this sentiment.

Companies Having to Adapt

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on work environments is still being felt, with companies that adopted work-from-home policies during the crisis now cautiously attempting to end fully remote work.

Just last week, reports indicated that Dell employees reacted indifferently to the company's strict RTO policies, with 50% of its US workforce still avoiding full-time office hours despite threats of promotion pauses.

A recent study also found that two-fifths of job seekers in Europe would turn down an attractive job offer if it didn't include remote or hybrid working options.

According to the 2024 Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes by WFH Research, US workers now average 2.2 days of working from home per week.