Experts at Financial-world have analysed Google Trends data to reveal the all-time high spike in searches. The increased interest in moving from in-office positions to those that are home-based comes amid the continuing cost-of-living crisis in the UK.
The number of Brits searching for remote work began to increase as the COVID-19 pandemic paved the way for this relatively rare form of working in 2019. Since then, the interest in remote working has increased, spiking in February 2023. While some companies may have seen remote and hybrid working as a temporary phenomenon, it is evident by this trend that UK workers are still very much interested in working from home.
According to ONS data released last week, between September 2022 and January 2023, 16% of the UK workforce still worked solely from home, while 28% split their time between home and the office in hybrid roles. In addition, 40% of workers had worked from home at some point in the past seven days, compared with just 12% in 2019. This indicates that the demand for work-from-home roles is still increasing following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The increased interest in remote working in the UK may be due to the continuing cost-of-living crisis. As energy bills, fuel, food costs, mortgage rates, and rent prices have risen, Brits are cutting costs wherever they can to navigate the financial choppy waters. Working remotely will save time wasted on a long commute, allowing for more time spent with family and friends and activities that may have been otherwise neglected. Additionally, working from home removes the added expense of travel costs, whether that be public transport fares or fuel and general car-related costs. According to a recent quote from RAC Fuel Watch, January has seen an increase in the wholesale price of petrol, which may force prices to rise for customers. This could make working from home a real money-saver if long commutes and constant filling up at the fueling station are the norms for you.
According to experts at Financial-world, the volume of searches for ‘remote jobs’ is estimated to be 28,000 per month in the UK. Currently, 36,309 remote working jobs are listed on the Indeed job site.
A spokesperson from Financial-world commented on the findings: “There is a clear demand for remote roles in the UK. The costs of commuting and the time spent doing so are proving to be a strain on many people's finances and a stressful situation to navigate among spikes in fuel prices. Employers may have to consider welcoming more flexible work-from-home or hybrid workers to keep up with the demand and avoid losing employees. It will be interesting to see if more companies opt to offer flexible work conditions in the future.”
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FMJ
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