Pandemic’s lockdown leaves UK workers better off, survey shows

Potential good news for charities – two-thirds of UK workers surveyed for a recent study say they are financially better off since lockdown. The Censuswide survey, commissioned by Eskenzi PR, questioned 1,000 people and found that 30% said they saved on lunches by working from home, 60% of people saved money by not going out, and 50% saved on commuting costs. Sector by sector, the study found that almost 90% of those employed in the financial sector reported savings. Those in IT, Legal, HR and Education also managed to increase their savings while 65% of retail workers, builders and manual labourers questioned reported being better off financially since March 2020. Workers managed to save an average of £820 over the 6-month lockdown period by making lunch at home - based on an average cost of eating out at lunch of £3.56, Monday to Friday. Scaled up, this could reach £8.1bn saved on out-of-home lunches nationwide the study claims. The survey also found that 30% of respondents believed they won’t be back in the office until 2021, and 75% reported that their employers will allow flexible working, enabling these saving patterns to continue. Yvonne Eskenzi, Co-founder of Eskenzi PR commented: “Eskenzi PR’s survey shows that workers aren’t keen to rush back to work full time with saving costs by not commuting and buying lunches being a major factor. However, for 40% they’re ready to go back to work for 2 to 3 days a week. It all comes down to the employers now – will most of them allow their staff the freedom to work flexibility?”      

from UK Fundraising https://ift.tt/32ckGfo