The vast majority of workers are in favor of changes to the law that would make it illegal for companies to force employees to work from the office, according to a new study. Due to the recent lockdowns, research from identity firm Okta found that workers want more freedom to select how and where to work, with hybrid work solutions becoming more popular. However, the study of more than XNUMX office workers, including two from the UK, found that many think employers will be reluctant to offer more flexibility. Seventy-nine percent of those surveyed for the study would like to see the law changed to make it illegal to force employees to work from their desks. However, XNUMX% want caveats, even for emergency service workers. Meanwhile, thirty-one% think it should be illegal regardless of the occupation. The UK government is currently reviewing the post-lockdown employment landscape and discussing how best to incorporate any new legislation. This could include the “right to disconnect”, which would allow workers to have more of a say in any and all decisions related to working from home or in places other than the office.
Flexible working
“Many Brits have spent more than a year following the rules and working from home,” says Samantha Fisher, an active work manager in Okta. “Looking forward, there is no question that they want the freedom to work on their terms, whether it is going back to the office, working remotely, or a combination of the two.
A change in legislation would leave the choice up to employees and give organizations the ability to conduct assessments, re-evaluate processes and enable better methods that support working in a multi-site strategy. "However, not every worker can imagine the idea of more flexible working, with XNUMX% of respondents saying they want to stay in the office or simply can't do their work anywhere else. Okta conducted a similar survey in May XNUMX, and at that time only XNUMX% of workers said they wanted to return to office work full-time.
Undoubtedly, British workers are more in favor of remote work than their European counterparts. An electric R. In the UK, XNUMX% expect to work from home permanently, which is higher than in the Netherlands (XNUMX%), Switzerland (XNUMX%) and France (XNUMX%). A significant XNUMX% of Britons also prefer a hybrid approach to work, with a mix of office and home hours.
Many workers fear that the desire for a more flexible approach to work may not be as evident on the part of their employers. Half of the respondents said in the survey that they expected their employer to offer more flexibility in the future, but a third think they will have to return to the office, without having the option of selecting a remote alternative.
In fact, XNUMX% said the company they work for hasn't even considered offering workplace flexibility if constraints are relaxed. Workers clearly want to see better measures incorporated if they face a return to the office. These include fewer people in offices (XNUMX%), Covid-safe technology including better phones for social distancing (XNUMX%), and mandatory use of masks (XNUMX%). Being able to avoid the most frequented rush hours was also a preferred option for XNUMX%.
The investigation also examined the security of the system for workers in offices and remote locations. The survey found that XNUMX% of office workers only use a password as a barrier against security threats. It was discovered that the R. The UK was the main culprit in this compared to the Netherlands (XNUMX%), Sweden (XNUMX%), Switzerland (XNUMX%) and France (XNUMX%). However, a third (XNUMX%) also use a VPN, while XNUMX% use multi-factor authentication (MFA). Surprisingly, XNUMX% said they were not sure if their employer had security measures in place.
"While it's good that more Brits are using technologies like MFA to protect themselves, the fact that many are still only using passcodes or outdated technologies like VPN signals that security measures need to be improved," adds Ian Lowe, Solutions Manager Industrial for EMEA in Okta. . .
“At the start of the pandemic, companies had to quickly move to remote work and adopt short-term solutions to protect themselves. Today, a year later, many of those measures are still current. A successful and secure hybrid work model requires consolidation of each and every aspect of IT. To achieve this, organizations need flexibility in the technology they use and a strategic approach to how they manage how employees access company data and information, wherever they are located. Well, one thing is certain: we will never return as before.