1 in 8 office workers to resign because lack of remote working

Around one in eight office workers has resigned or will resign from their job as a result of the pandemic with lack of remote working one of the key reasons for quitting, new research by IT asset disposal company DSA Connect shows.

Its research found 12% of office workers – around two million employees – plan to quit or will quit with many blaming their employers’ attitude to remote working.

Around a fifth (20%) say they wanted greater flexibility over mixing remote working with being in the office which their employer wouldn’t offer while 12% say they want to continue working remotely and their employer won’t allow them.

The pandemic has meant people are reassessing their lives – 27% say they have resigned because they want to change career, while 15% of those resigning have moved home during the pandemic and say their previous job is now too far to commute.

DSA Connect, which specialises in the permanent deletion and destruction of electronic data, warns that employers will face issues with recycling or disposing of the IT equipment used outside the office by staff who have resigned.

Its research shows 54% of those who have resigned have handed back laptops while 41% have returned mobile phones and 22% have given back desktop computers.

Equipment is likely to have personal data on it along with company data and DSA Connect says employers need to dispose of equipment safely and securely or risk potential fines and damage to their reputation.

Says Harry Benham, Chairman of DSA Connect:

“Many employees are quite sensibly reassessing their lives and careers as a result of the Coronavirus crisis and part of that is changing jobs.

“Employers will be used to handling resignations and dealing with old IT equipment in the past, but the difference now is that more staff will have been using equipment outside the office and may have personal data on it.

“Companies need to take a careful and considered approach to recycling or disposing of equipment safely and securely as failure to do so can have severe consequences for businesses.”