Study reveals Scots would rather quit job than lose right to work from home as UK marks three years since lockdown 

23/03/2023
Euan Cameron, Willo Co-Founder (picture by Elaine Livingstone)
  • Nationwide study commissioned to mark third anniversary of Covid-19 lockdown in UK indicates almost a third of Scottish workers value WFH above staying in a job  
  • Around 57% of Scottish workers wouldn’t consider working in an office again 
  • More than half of Scottish workers would seek a job that enables them to work from anywhere in the world
  • Hiring expert and video interview entrepreneur Euan Cameron expects value of WFH to rise further in prominence for workers view remote working as ‘a right rather than a perk or privilege’


MORE than a third of people in Scotland would now QUIT their job if employers don’t let them work from home, research conducted to mark the third anniversary of the UK entering Covid-19 lockdown has revealed. 

The statistic emerged from a UK-wide national survey commissioned by Glasgow-based global asynchronous video interview platform Willo to gauge how working habits in the UK have changed since the first lockdown was introduced to combat the spread of Covid-19 on March 23, 2020.  

Around 35% of respondents said lockdowns had made them more likely to consider leaving a job if employers wouldn’t allow them to work from home, with people under 45 even more likely to do so (16–24-year-olds 48%; 25–34-year-olds 53%; 35-44 year-olds 44%). 

Workers in Edinburgh are most likely to quit if unable to work from home, with more than the national number (43%) saying they’d leave their job if bosses asked them to return to the office full time. Around 30% of Glaswegians said they’d leave. 

Working from home became essential for the majority of the nation during Covid-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021, when the UK Government advised people to work from home even once restrictions eased. Only ‘key workers’ such as medical staff, emergency services, and shop workers were excepted. 

Employers have increasingly called on staff to return to offices, with a separate survey conducted by Slack published earlier this year revealing 50% of leaders want workforces back on site. 

More than half of Scottish respondents to the Willo study, conducted by Opinion Matters, said they would now consider applying for a job that enables them to work from home (54%), with roughly the same number going a step further and considering roles that enable them to work from anywhere in the world (53%). 

More than half Scottish respondents (57%) said they were unlikely to consider working from an office again. 

More than a third of Scots also said they will never spend as much time commuting as they did before the pandemic (37%), with those aged under 44 again less likely to do so. 

Euan Cameron, founder of Willo, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic drove the biggest change to working habits since the industrial revolution. It changed what we thought was possible when it comes to work, and for the better. 

“Sectors that were previously tied to offices have been liberated, with staff enjoying increased flexibility and choice, and employers reaping the benefits of more appropriate premises and access to talent once off limits due to geography or time zone. It’s a win-win.

“Three years is enough time to show a true shift in worker and employer behaviour. It’s no secret that lockdowns were the final hurdle on remote working going mainstream, but what this survey shows is that working from home is now considered a right, not a perk or privilege. If workers aren’t afforded it, they’ll vote with their feet and I think we ‘ll see more of that as years progress. 

“It goes beyond work from home too – to work from anywhere. More than half of Willo’s workforce is based outside of the UK, and it brings huge benefits in terms of diversity, talent, and productivity. It provides access to a global talent pool rather than just regional. 

“Nobody will forget the pain suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, but if there’s a silver lining it’s the acceleration of much-needed changes in the way we live and work, and they’re here to stay.” 

 For more information on Willo, visit the willo.video.

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