7 out of 10 Manchester employees would change companies for a better culture

New research into what employees want from their workplace post-pandemic has revealed that 7 out of 10 office-based workers in Manchester would change jobs for a better company culture. The study, carried out by commercial interior design, build and delivery specialist ADT Workplace, discovered a positive culture tops the list of what’s important to employees, ranking above feeling valued for contributions and training and development opportunities.

Analysis of the data also found that only a third (36%) of people think their workplace currently has a positive culture, with fewer than 10% (6.4%) rating their workplace culture as excellent. There is no doubt that the pandemic has had an impact on the ability for organisations to create, foster and nurture culture with people working across multiple locations. In fact, 30% of those surveyed in Manchester said the pandemic has had a negative impact on their organisation’s workplace culture.

The research also explored post-pandemic working patterns, which revealed unsurprisingly that almost two thirds (60%) of people in Manchester are now hybrid working. Despite this, and reassuringly for businesses, people’s preferred working patterns still favour office-based working:

· Manchester employees’ preferred working patterns: 2 days at home Vs 3 days in the office

· A third (33.6%) of people want to be in the office full-time

· Only 1 in 10 people want to be at home full-time

Despite the research finding that the average office-based worker in Manchester will spend around 13 days a year commuting, the majority still want to work from the office for more time each week than they want to work from home.

Respondents were also asked their views on wellbeing and sustainability with over three quarters of people in Manchester saying that having a sustainable workplace is important to them (76.8%). Almost 90% people say flexible working hours are important in supporting their health and wellbeing but fewer than half say this is currently available to them. When it comes to traditional benefits, three quarters of people view having access to an Employee Assistance Programme as important but again, fewer than half list this as an existing benefit.

Commenting on the research findings which have been collated into a new ‘Is your workplace worth the commute?’ report, David Clemetson, director at ADT Workplace, said: “The last two years have inevitably changed peoples’ priorities, but it’s great to hear that the majority of people still value spending time in the office with colleagues. That said, with the battle to attract and retain the very best talent tougher than ever, the market has firmly shifted in favour of employees when it comes to workplace demands, and their wants and needs have changed.

“The results of our research echo this, with workplace culture identified as what people in Manchester care most about, over and above what we’d traditionally expect to top the list, such as training and development opportunities. Organisations must react and raise the bar with their workplace offering if they want their business to succeed.”

Further detail can be found in a free employee insights report, ‘Is your office worth the commute?’, downloadable here.