To deal with labour shortages, a third of leaders have hired remote-only employees

According to a survey, nearly a third (29%) of company executives say they have only hired remote workers in reaction to labour shortages and rising support for new working arrangements.

The Center for Growth at Boston Consulting Group has published its first business study, 'State of UK Business 2023: Squeezed but still standing', which demonstrated that while some businesses are urging employees to spend nearly all of their time in the office, this idea does not "chime with" the opinions of the business leaders surveyed, with only 8% of them believing the shift to remote working had a negative impact on employee performance.

Although the Office for Budget Responsibility and the Bank of England forecast that the unemployment rate will increase from the current 3.7% to close to 4.5% at the beginning of 2024, the survey of 1,500 UK business leaders suggested that companies may not be as quick to fire employees. Over the next 12 months, 77% of respondents anticipated their headcount to remain the same or increase, a significant majority compared to those who anticipate a decrease (20% of respondents).

The results "come as no surprise," according to Daniel Wheatley, Reader in Business and Labour Economics at the University of Birmingham Business School, given the advantages of remote work and the rising demands of employees for geographic flexibility in their working lives.

Additionally, he admitted that remote work "offers employers the ability to draw from a larger geographical pool of workers," which is helpful in the current economic environment, in addition to offering benefits to employees. It also enables businesses to rationalise facilities and office spaces.

Molly Johnson-Jones, co-founder and CEO of Flexa, also made the point that wholly office-based work only serves the needs of a small group of people.