Facilitating in-person collaboration is a key driver for returning to the office, and employee mental health has become an even more important issue.
Four years on from lockdown, it's hard to overstate the impact coronavirus has had on the working lives of marketers across the UK.
However, not everyone is reaping the benefits of the work-from-home revolution. According to Marketing Week's 2024 Career and Salary Survey, more than half (56.5%) of marketers believe that remote work has hurt their networking and relationship-building opportunities.
In contrast, just over a third (37.1%) of the more than 3,000 marketers surveyed said working from home has not had a negative impact on building relationships.
According to 54% of marketers, one reason why returning to the office is more trending this year than last could be due to concerns about how to strengthen relationships and foster company culture.
71% of respondents said a desire for more effective in-person collaboration was a driving force behind returning to the office, followed by fostering company culture (59.8%) and improving the social aspects of work (44.7%). %) is followed.
More than a third (35.9%) of marketers say their companies believe that working in an office makes employees more productive, and 33.3% say their primary motivation is to use office space. says. Approximately 33.2% of respondents work for employers who believe that working in an office facilitates networking and building professional relationships.
Only 1 in 5 companies offer full flexibility to marketers about where they work
However, employee growth and career development (20.7%) and a desire to help improve employee mental health (13.9%) are far lower on the list of priorities.
The debate about the optimal balance between office and remote working remains controversial. Marketing Week's research shows that three days in the office is the most common arrangement (25.2%), closely followed by two days at the office (24.3%), but big employers are going in a different direction. It's progressing.
Boots has decided that its 3,900 head office employees will be required to come into the office five days a week from September. The company's CEO Seb James told staff that the informality of office-based catch-ups was better for the “unique Boots culture” than the “forced red tape” of remote meetings. he said.
Nationwide, meanwhile, notified employees in December that they would need to come into the office at least two days a week. Amazon plans to block promotions for staff who refuse to come into the office at least three days a week.
As these different approaches demonstrate, brands large and small continue to grapple with what hybrid working actually means for their employees.
We publish in-depth analysis breaking down data by gender, age and company size, explore how marketers feel about changing working patterns, and publish more news and features It's a schedule.
Marketing Week has published a series of exclusive news and features based on the findings of our 2024 Careers and Salaries survey, including the impact of skills gaps and ageism in marketing. Click here to see all the content we've published so far.
