Younger workers reconsidering WFH life to combat rising utility costs

According to new research, 7 in 10 employers are refusing to share the rising utilities burden for home-based employees, as new data suggests it might actually be cheaper to commute to the office than WFH as we approach winter.

The data, from YouGov and Emburse, suggests that almost a quarter (23%) of under 35s who can work from home say they would consider coming into the office more due to rising energy prices.

The majority (42%) of employees would opt for financial support from their employers to cover heating, electricity and mobile phone bills rather than commuting costs (35%), indicating employees are still leaning towards WFH life.

However, younger employees’ responses suggest that office space was still important to them, with an equal number (42%) saying they would prefer a subsidised commute.

The news comes as new prime minister Liz Trust announces her energy support plan, with bills set to be capped at £2500 for the average household.

Peter Smith, director of policy and advocacy at National Energy Action said: “As energy bills rise from October and again in January, we are going to see more and more workers thinking about how they can spend as little as possible on energy.

”They will look for warmth in other places, such as a library or going into work when they would normally work from home.”