Report warns employers to be wary of forcing workers back to the office

According to the report, two-thirds (64 per cent) of workers would consider looking for a new job if this happened.

The Asia-Pacific regional report also found that seven in 10 workers (71 per cent) have contemplated a major career move this year and there’s a sense that they’re questioning what job security means post-COVID-19.

“Today, workers are thinking about more than just a steady paycheck,” said report author, Nela Richardson.

“The pandemic has put personal wellbeing and life outside work into an even clearer perspective than ever before, and intensified the desire for more amenable working conditions, including greater flexibility, remote work options, or better organisational culture.”

The report revealed that workers are increasingly interested in a company’s ethics and values with three-quarters (76 per cent) saying they would consider looking for a new job if they discovered their company had an unfair gender pay gap or no diversity and inclusion policy.

Optimism about the outlook for the workplace, while still slightly below pre-pandemic levels, is also robust. Hopes are high for pay rises, with more than six in 10 workers (61 per cent) anticipating one in the next year and three-quarters (76 per cent) prepared to ask for one if they feel they deserve it.

Salary is seen as the most important factor in a job and two-thirds of workers (65 per cent) would like more hours for more pay. Yet workers are still effectively giving away the equivalent of more than a working day (8.5 hours) of unpaid overtime each week: less than in 2021 but still more than pre-pandemic.

Since seven in 10 (71 per cent) would like more flexibility as to when they work, such as condensing hours into a four-day week, continuing to do so much extra time may be unsustainable. Although pay is a priority, around half would accept a pay cut if it meant improving their work/life balance or to guarantee flexibility in how they structure their hours even if they still worked for the same amount of time each week.

This reinforces the idea that employers may need (and want) to make a trade-off between pay and other factors to keep workers content and fulfilled.

According to the report, many workers are contemplating relocating and a substantial minority have already done so. Concerns that employers may overlook remote workers in favour of their colleagues in the workplace are unfounded. In fact, the reverse is true: remote staff feel more recognised and rewarded for their efforts and supported in their careers.

Almost seven in 10 said they are paid fairly for their skills and role, compared with less than half of their peers in the workplace. Employers who are overcompensating by focussing on remote workers at the expense of others may need to redress the balance as a matter of urgency, said Ms Richardson.

For the one in 10 who are not satisfied with their current employment, almost half (49 per cent) said it is due to being given increased responsibility for no extra pay, rising to 53 per cent in Asia Pacific compared to 37 per cent in Europe.

Lack of progression was cited as the second-biggest cause of dissatisfaction (by 46 per cent overall), and 41 per cent put their dissatisfaction down to receiving fewer benefits than expected.

More than half (53 per cent) would accept a pay cut if it meant improving their work/life balance and a similar proportion (50 per cent) would take a pay cut to guarantee flexibility in how they structure their hours even if it meant the total hours worked did not change. Not so long ago, such ideas might have been laughed off: now they merit serious consideration, especially if granting requests for higher wages is not a viable option. With some employers starting to trial modernisations like a four-day working week, creative thinking is starting to translate into real-world change.

Indeed, two-thirds of the global workforce (64 per cent) have already or would consider looking for another job if their employer insisted that they return to the workplace full-time.