Poor working conditions | The cost-of-living crisis is hindering remote workers

The past six months haven’t been easy for many remote workers. Energy bills are at an all-time high, and over winter remote workers either needed to suffer in a freezing home, put up with extortionately high energy prices, or work elsewhere.

A report from Talk Talk found that 90% of remote employees were worried that working at home would increase their bills over winter. As a result, one-in-ten remote workers had decided to work from alternative locations and library use went up a staggering 147%. Winter is over, but economic strain is continuing to put pressure on those working remotely – what impact is this likely to have on UK workers and businesses?

From the (dis)comfort of your own home

In another survey from Sky Connect, 78% of workers said the cold weather in January made their working conditions feel uncomfortable. Those remote workers with flexibility may have the option to go into the office to escape paying hiked energy prices, but fully remote workers must either stay at home, or seek a café or library to work in.

But working in hospitality spaces and not having stability around workspace arrangements can be detrimental to worker productivity and happiness. In the same survey, 72% of respondents said that poor Wi-Fi connection was a major concern when choosing an alternative location to work from, suggesting the cost-of-living crisis is impacting some employee’s ability to work at all.