Over the last 18 months, the world of work has significantly changed, and we’ve had to adapt to a new way of working. Whether it’s from home, the office, somewhere else remotely, or a mix and match of all three, a new model has emerged – introducing hybrid working.
After surveying 1000 office workers, our research revealed lots of insights about this new ‘best of both worlds’ working set up, from opening up new work opportunities to how working from a hotel is now ranked one of the most productive places to work remotely.
The highlights of hybrid working
People who found a five-day-a-week office job in the big city a lot, with the pressures of commuting and long days, can now split their time between the office and home. What’s more, city dwellers who craved a change of scenery, can now venture out more often.
Research has shown that people’s work-life balance has changed dramatically. But in a really good way. Over a quarter of people said that they’ve been able to move away from their place of work as they don’t have to manage a daily commute while other wellbeing benefits include being able to relax more (37%), cook dinner (33%) and exercise. Getting that time back for what we’d consider small parts of our daily routine is having a big impact.
And that’s not all. When it comes to being privy to more work opportunities, these have also increased with 25% of workers saying because of hybrid working, they’ve been able to work in new parts of the country - it seems like this new model is opening doors that used be shut due to location limitations. Plus, not only are workers feeling more creative, they’re finding that having more flexibility to tailor their working day has improved productivity.
A model formula (but with challenges)
Working where you live can have its drawbacks. According to the survey, distractions at home included the TV (31%), children (30%), household chores (26%) and partners (23%). So, this would probably explain why lots of people are admitting there are parts of office life they miss, whether it’s socialising with colleagues outside of work, grabbing a coffee or enjoying the simple ‘stop by the desk and have a chat’ perks.
Other things deemed key for successful remote working are reliable Wi-Fi, a comfy seat and desk as well as space and privacy for making calls.
Working from Hotel – the new WFH?
Interestingly, almost a third of people (30%) said they’d like to work somewhere different than their home or the office. In addition, with 35% of the people surveyed saying they need to stay overnight in a hotel during the working week, working from one of them could be just the ticket.
Tim Campbell MBE, businessman and entrepreneur said:
“The digital work revolution has given people the tools and confidence to log-on anywhere at any time. This has required us to innovate how we work at home and in the office and made the whole country our workplace.
Having travelled around the UK throughout my career, I know I can always rely on hotels to provide what I need to connect when I am working away from home, giving a whole new meaning to WFH. Premier Inn has all the facilities you need to set yourself up to successfully work away from home without the worry.”
What’s more, there’s also the added bonus of being able to combine business and leisure – or what it’s now known as - ‘bleisure’. It turns out lots of people are finding that they can work remotely from somewhere which can then conveniently lead onto enjoying a weekend break. At the end of the working week, switching off is almost immediate plus there’s no extra travelling to a destination! What’s not to love?!
So, it’s safe to say that ‘Working from Hotel’ has its benefits especially when there’s over 800 hotels to choose from when you stay with Premier Inn. With the world of work changing, it’s the perfect time, now more than ever, to take advantage of our informal working spaces, have coffee meetings at our on-site restaurants and wake up refreshed ready for a big day at work.
