Most Brits Believe Remote and Office Workers Are Equally Professional

April 09 22:12 2019

DUBLIN – A growing number of people in Britain are opting for flexible work arrangements, leaving their office jobs to seek remote roles that can be carried out from home. As the UK’s corporate sector changes, so do people’s perceptions of professionalism, a new survey finds.

The survey, for virtual call provider eReceptionist, was carried out by Google Surveys in early March to uncover the public’s attitude towards remote work. Most notably, the survey highlighted that 77.5% of respondents found both remote and corporate workers hold an equal level of professionalism, while 61.4% deemed both home-based and corporate environments to be equally suitable for work activities.

This sampling of public opinion follows a stream of discussion around equality and remote work.

While some publications have questioned the negative implications of remote work, others argue that remote work has proven useful in reducing inequality by helping to close the gender pay gap. This is linked to stats that show “women make up for 42% of the leadership at remote companies”, highlighting the benefits that remote work has for women.

The subject of equality is also focused on by the UK government in their overview of flexible working as they state, “all employees have the right to request flexible working – not just parents and carers.”

Brits Urge to Join Remote Ranks

The majority of the survey’s respondents, when asked if they would consider a remote working role if the option was available to them, answered yes, with 59.3% admitting they would consider applying for remote positions.

Despite the majority of participants being open to this alternative work arrangement, the current number of remote workers in Britain – thought to be about 1.5 million – only equates to a tiny minority of the UK population who are currently engaged in some form of work.

Barriers to Remote Roles

Despite portrayals of the remote work revolution in the media as an excuse for low-cost living abroad, only 26.1% of those surveyed selected “the ability to travel” when asked what remote work benefits appealed to them. This made travel the lowest-ranking motivator for those in search of remote work.

However, as well as asking participants about which remote benefits appeal the most to them (48.4% claimed the ability to create their own work schedule was the most appealing), the survey also attempted to identify perceived barriers that the UK public feel stops them from filling remote roles.

The most popular answer to the question “Which of these barriers do you feel stops you from being able to work remotely?” was “the availability of remote roles” – an option chosen by 35.6% of respondents.

In contrast, the lowest-ranking barriers – such as fear of self-management (11.3%) and a lack of required expertise, skills or knowledge (16.7%) – show that the UK public doesn’t feel that internal variables halt their progress towards achieving a remote role.

The results show a clear disparity between the number of Brits willing to work remotely and those that are currently benefiting from a flexible work arrangement.

In response to 28.3% of the UK public feeling “a lack of assistive tools and technology” being a key barrier to achieving a remote role, Rory Whelan, marketing manager of eReceptionist, said that recent technological advances have made virtual work more possible than it has ever been.

“We still have a long way to go to fully understand the scale of remote work and how UK businesses can best respond to meet the needs of a more flexible workforce,” he said. “What is certain, however, is that there is an almost endless supply of technology that enables people to conduct business anywhere, with no detriment to their operation or professionalism.”

He added: “What’s more, as people no longer view remote employees or home-based businesses as inferior, there’s no reason people shouldn’t be encouraged to reap the benefits of going remote.”

Media Contact
Company Name: EReceptionist
Contact Person: Rory Whelan, Marketing Manager
Email: Send Email
Country: Ireland
Website: https://www.ereceptionist.co.uk

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