Remote work could enable over 13 million Brits to seize the opportunity to live and work outside the major cities, helping to spread economic opportunity across the UK.
This is according to research released today by ClickUp, which also found that 45 percent of the UK workforce believe working remotely from wherever they would like on a permanent basis is a realistic option.
Also, more than half (53%) of Brits believe that living in a major city is important to their career advancement.
However, if they had the same career prospects living elsewhere as they do now, only 15 percent of people would choose to continue living in the city.
The new research from ClickUp suggests that remote work could play a major role in helping the government achieve its key objective and level the economic playing field across the country.
What are the challenges to remote working?
Remote working does not come without its challenges. ClickUp suggests that to make remote working a permanent reality, the areas that need improvement are:
- Ways of communicating (19%)
- Managing employees (17%)
- Managing workloads and projects (17%)
- Too much importance is given to face-to-face meetings (17%)
- Software and tools (16%)
Managing and measuring productivity becomes even more important with distributed workforces, yet less than a fifth (19%) believe their employer’s able to do this well.
In fact, the data shows there is significant room for improvement with close to half (44%) of Brits rating their employer’s ability to measure productivity as average or below average.
Amber Coster, VP of Operations, EMEA at ClickUp, says: “The key to spreading economic opportunity across the UK could be staring us in the face. The country has already adapted brilliantly to remote working, and there is a huge demand to live and work outside of the main economic hubs.
“There are still some productivity hurdles to be overcome but with the right approach and tools, combined with the government’s commitment to improving connectivity, remote work could play a major role in bringing economic opportunity to everyone.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
