London, workers are demanding a pay raise to return to the office

Either there is a surcharge on the salary, or you don’t go back to the office. According to a survey, London employees, in order to give up smart working and return to their desks full time, want an average salary increase that cover the cost of the train pass to get to the company.

Due to the pandemic, employees spent an average of 16 months working mainly from home. Only 17%, now, he would really like to go back to the office full time: a research reported by Bloomberg and carried out by YouGov Plc per Locatee, a company for job analysis.

However, 43% would be willing to return to the desk anyway, in the face of higher salaries. On average, workers would ask for £ 5,100 (almost € 6,000), which corresponds to the annual cost of the train pass between London and Tunbridge Wells, a commuter city in Kent.

The research highlighted the difficulties that companies (24 out of 100 would like their employees to return full time) are encountering in an attempt to structure a “new normal”. If London workers were to actually get the wage increase required to return to the full-time office, the average wage increase would be around 15%.

Many companies are already planning a “hybrid” future, which includes days of regular home work. “Companies run the risk of losing staff if they don’t offer flexibility,” explains Thomas Kessler, CEO and founder of Locatee. The employees, for their part, “still want feel part of a larger unit, surrounded (sometimes even physically) by colleagues and supported by the company ». And nearly half of young people between 18 and 24 fear that remote work could hinder career progression.

But nearly a third of people looking for a new job, according to the research, now expect to work from home at least two days a week. Although most still prioritize salary when looking for a new job, 47% now mention flexible work as one of the main requirements.