That video call could have been an email: After four years, are Brits sick of WFH?

There is a brilliant novelty about working from home. Household amenities are always within reach, transport fares are reduced to the difficulty of moving from your bed to the desk, and no one steals your food from the fridge.

But, after more than four years, has it become a nuisance?

Around 40 per cent of Brits work from home all or some of the time, according to the ONS, accounting for a good chunk of the British office brigade.

About half of these workers have become increasingly antsy about WFH challenges – like colleagues eating on a video call or faking technical difficulties to get out of a Zoom – in the last few years, according to a new survey.

Nine in ten think a number of their video calls during a typical working week could have been resolved by an email, a third of UK workers say they’ve overheard confidential information, and a third believe video calls are less productive than in-person meetings (versus a fifth who believe video calls are more productive).

Five days a week isn’t the answer

Business leaders certainly want people back in the office: a KPMG survey found that 83 per cent of UK CEOs expect a return to full-time office working within the next three years.

WFH has been blamed for low productivity and a lack of employee engagement (think quiet quitting).

And workers seem to think the same: half believe they are more productive working in the office than working remotely, and a third think their colleagues, too, are more productive working in the office.

However, neither productivity concerns nor annoyance at WFH seem to have translated into a desire for change: about a third of these workers still say they would quit if more office days were mandated by their companies.

Ultimately, despite the issues, the impact of work from home has been “lasting”, according to chief solutions officer at Kahoot, Sean D’Arcy.

“Workers highlight that increasing interactivity could help alleviate fatigue and make meetings more effective. Rather than forcing employees back to the office, employers should focus on improving hybrid work by optimizing meetings, keeping them shorter, more purposeful, and engaging.

“Flexibility and collaboration remain key… fostering engagement empowers hybrid teams to thrive while meeting the demands of a modern workplace.”