A study conducted by DVJ Insights on behalf of RTLnieuws found that 20 percent of employers aim to return to the office full-time after coronavirus.
While several studies have found that employees would ideally see their time split between working from home and working in the office in the future, it seems that a number of employers see things a little differently. DVJ spoke to 272 employers in the Netherlands, and found that 20 percent of them did not enjoy working (partially) from home, and would like to return to the office once the pandemic is over.
The study found that these employers had noticed their workers had enjoyed working from home at the start of the lockdown last spring, but as time passed they were keen to return to work and socialise with their colleagues again.
“We really need the team to get back into the office, to pick up the old normal,” said Michael Bouwens from hospitality and facility specialist Bouwens&. “We are an entrepreneurial club and perform better as a company when we come together,” he explained.
The majority of employers (59 percent), however, agreed that in the future, mixing home working and office working would be ideal. Employees will have the freedom to chose to work from home as often as three or four days a week. 59 percent of DVJ’s respondents did say they would impose mandatory attendance on certain days of the week to ensure the team got to know each other and work together in person.
A recent study found that employees do miss the social aspects of office work, but felt more productive when working from home. The majority said they’d prefer to continue to have the option to work from home in the future, and trade unions agree that workers should have the right to choose where they work.