A recent UK survey into remote working attitudes has revealed that half of Manchester’s workforce say their mental health is better when working from home.
The study, commissioned by free conference call providers WHYPAY?, found that 50% of Manchester employees would like to have some level of remote working offered to them long-term, and a quarter of workers would even choose to take a significant pay cut to work from home permanently.
A key find from WHYPAY’s survey is that Manchester employees have found themselves to be feeling more cheery and upbeat since they have started to work from home.
The data reveals that 25% now feel that they are “all-round” happier people, and another 25% admit that they feel more energised to work as a result of not having to commute anymore.
Speaking about these statistics, Nadia Finer, Founder of Shy and Mighty, said: “The fact that there is so much scary stuff happening in the world that we have no control over, can make us feel overwhelmed and powerless. Being snuggled up at home in our little bubbles helps to make us feel safer. But, going back out into the world feels scarier than it did before”.
Elliot Green, Chief Marketing Officer at WHYPAY, added: “Clearly, the effects of lockdown on mental health are multifaceted and vary massively depending on individual circumstances. There can be no doubt that reducing social contact both inside and outside the workplace will be detrimental to our wellbeing, but the fact that such a significant proportion of the workforce believe their mental health has improved as a result of working from cannot be ignored. “
It also seems that the workforce of Manchester are more productive as a result of working from home – with 55% admitting they now get more work done than ever.
Anthony Klokkou, Managing Director of Sleeping Giant Media, spoke about how the lockdown has had a positive impact on his company’s work ethic and said: “We have seen that remote working can work well, for us at least, and have worked hard to keep communication high across the business, whilst supporting the cultural development that is happening.”
Adding to this, Mr Green from WHYPAY, said: “What we’re seeing is a shift in mindset as many employees realise they can work just as well, if not more effectively, from home. With the right communication technology, remote staff can connect and collaborate very successfully.”
WHYPAY’s data furthermore reveals that 51% of Manchester employees say that their views of their current job have changed as a result of working from home.
As well as this, 1 in 5 of the city’s workers have even admitted they would consider switching to a job that offers remote working going forward.
Referring to these eye-opening statistics, Psychology Expert, Katie Smith, said: “This highlights the level of fear that many are currently experiencing, as a result of the threat of harm that COVID has brought. If this fear is not respected as a genuine consideration by employers, then it can manifest into anxieties for the employee from a sense of lack of feeling in control, and a threat to personal safety.”
A remote future going forward?
According to the overall findings of WHYPAY?’s survey, it seems that the COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly shifted the city of Manchester’s attitudes of the “conventional” 9 to 5 days in the office.
On this, Dennis Relojo-Howell, founder of psychology website Psychreg, said: “COVID-19 has changed the world. One of the biggest day-to-day changes is that thousands of businesses had to close their doors and learn how to work from home.”
“But now we’ve experienced this way of life, we might not ever go back to the traditional office as we know it. Some data has uncovered that many people prefer working at home, indicating that the future may be remote. To better support individuals, we also have to take into account what WHYPAY statistics has revealed.”
