In a survey conducted by YouGov and commissioned by technology firm Emburse, 1,015 employees were asked a range of questions with the aim of understanding the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on British workers.
The employees were asked whether they were being financially supported by their employers during this time and the survey tried to identify any changes in work pattern behaviour as a result of the energy bills price increase.
The data showed that 69% of respondents who can work from home say their employers have never provided financial support for utility bills and aren’t planning to do so in the future. Employees who felt that the likelihood their employer would help with energy costs lowers as the size of the company increases, with 6% of large businesses versus 14% of small businesses (10 or less employees) offering support.
Despite this, it appears that the majority of employees would still prefer to work from home (WFH), with 42% - given the choice - opting for financial support towards utility bills rather than commuting costs. However, 42% of younger employees stated they would prefer a subsidised commute (against 26% of over 55s) and 23% of under-35s who can work from home say they would consider coming into the office more owing to rising energy prices.
Overall, 17% of those surveyed said their working preferences between the office and home may need to change as a direct result of rising living costs.
Kenny Eon, GM and SVP, EMEA at Emburse commented:
“There is clearly a growing concern amongst home-based employees about the cost of keeping the heating on during the work week. Only 9% of the people we surveyed are receiving support from their employers to pay for their utility bills, with just another 7% saying that their employers are planning to provide support. This is particularly impacting younger employees, and almost a quarter of them have said that they are likely to return to the office as a result of skyrocketing bills. Spending more time at the office may not be the preferred option for all employees. But when you add the financial benefit of doing so to the culture and collaboration benefits that many employees experience, this could provide a more compelling reason for employees to return to the office.”
