New report reveals creative industry’s preferences for returning to the office… or not

Creative industry jobs board If You Could Jobs, It’s Nice That’s sister company, has published a new research study analysing creative industry preferences for returning to the office post-Covid-19. The report, conducted by Kohlrabi Consulting in March 2021 and published in full here, reveals findings from a survey of the industry. The aim is to explore what the work landscape might look like for creative businesses, and how individual preferences varied by job role, seniority and experiences of remote working.

The report finds that 57 per cent of people want to work from home most or all of the time in the short-term future, while 25 per cent would prefer an even split between home and office time. Looking further ahead, however, survey respondents show a slight increase in willingness to work in the office, with 43 per cent of people preferring to work from home all or most of the time, and 31 per cent opting for an even split.

Less than four per cent of respondents want to work from the office all the time going forward, and over half said they would look for another job if their employer asked them to return to the office full-time.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the report found that those who had dedicated working space at home, such as a studio or spare bedroom, were more than twice as likely to prefer to keep working remotely in 2022 than those who worked in their bedroom or secondary living space. The survey found that those with senior job roles were more likely to have their own working space, whereas five per cent of people with entry-level roles and 16 per cent of juniors had their own space to work in. Entry-level and junior staff were more likely to work in their bedrooms compared to those at the midweight, senior or director level (38 per cent vs. 24 per cent).

Those in design or creative roles were more likely to report disadvantages of working remotely than those on the business and management side. Disadvantages included poor home working space, boredom, blurred boundaries between work and home life, and a lack of social interaction with colleagues. Those in junior roles were were disproportionately impacted compared to those at the midweight, senior or director level, the report says. Juniors were more likely to report disadvantages such as lack of routine, increased distractions, and increased stress, and less likely to report advantages such as improved freedom or flexibility and improved work-life balance as advantages.

The insight report is the first in a series from If You Could that looks into current topics and issues surrounding the creative industries. The aim is to “know what the future of work looks like and how we can get there”. Sign up to the If You Could Jobs newsletter to get involved and stay up to date with the series.