Find out whether this is affecting employee's working preferences, based on data from Emburse.
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Inflation in the UK has hit 10.1%, its highest level in forty years. Unfortunately, British consumer woes are far from over; Goldman Sachs has predicted that inflation could reach 22% in January 2023. This is primarily because of sky-high energy bills, which have only been worsened by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In this context, the UK government has introduced an energy cap of £3,549 for October 2022. This dramatic increase in what consumers spent on their energy bills, individuals are already struggling to make ends meet.
According to data from the Asda Income Tracker collated by the Centre for Business and Economic Research, one in five UK households have an average shortfall of £60 a week; this means they have negative disposal income.
As energy prices continue to skyrocket, this could make working from home more and more expensive, especially as winter hits and individuals need to put their heating on.
Research by Emburse found that the cost of living crisis may be having an impact on where people choose to work.
Currently 63% of the 1,000 British workers surveyed spend more days working from home than they did in the office, but 17% noted their working location preference may change as the cost of living crisis worsened.
In addition, 23% of under 35s said they were considering going to the office more due to rising energy bills.
Emburse general manager and senior vice-president Kenny Eon said: “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.”
Workers want employers to cover their utility bills
Emburse’s study also found that generally employees preference remains to work from home, but they want their employers to support them by covering their energy bills this winter.
Seven in ten said their employer has never provided financial support related to energy costs, and don’t plan to do so in the future.
Eon noted: “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.”
42% of workers would choose for their employer to cover heating and electricity bills over their organization paying their commuting costs. 35% would choose to have commuting costs covered rather than energy bills.
Under 35s bucked the trend with 44% choosing to expense the commute over their energy bills – this declined to 26% for the over 55s.
Speaking exclusively to UNLEASH, Eon notes: “Striking the right balance and giving the people what they want is not easy when it comes to the new world of hybrid working.
“It’s clear that the economy is under immense pressure right now and inevitably this impacts citizens and their personal finances.
“The priority for businesses right now should be to look after their people and listen to their feedback on workplace matters like this.”
