Charity workers are increasingly keen to continue working from home even when offices open their doors as Covid-19 lockdown eases.

A survey of charity workers has found increasing interest in remote working after a year in which many have been forced to work from home as offices remain shut due to the health crisis.

Eight out of ten people would like to work from home more often in the future, according to Blackbaud’s The Future of Work report. This is up from 67%, cited in Blackbaud’s research in 2020.

But while interest in home working has grown, the survey indicates that charity workers are particularly interested in blended and flexible working arrangements.

Blended working arrangements are where employees are able to divide their working time between home and office, such as through working at home some days or for periods of the day.

Around a fifth said they would like to work mostly from home long term, a similar proportion wanted to work mostly away from home.

The survey was carried out in January and February this year and involved more than 800 respondents. A third are from small charities and a quarter have been furloughed at some point during the pandemic.

Around three quarters of respondents are full time and almost all (98%) have been working at home during the Covid-19.

“The pandemic has, almost overnight, completely shifted how we think about work and has fast tracked the implementation of technology and cloud-based tools that enable efficient and smooth digital working from anywhere,” said Blackbaud’s Sally Falvey.

“This kind of change management and digital transformation would have likely taken years were it not for COVID-19 forcing us to all rapidly adapt. Now, with lockdown measures once again beginning to ease, the sector is at a pivotal moment to reimagine what the future of work looks like at our organisations and ensure the sector remains attractive to employees who are key in helping us all achieve our respective missions.”

She said that remote working is “not necessarily appealing, effective or healthy for
everyone at all times” and that “balance is key”.

“The future of work is not 100% working from home, or 100% office based. There’s a hybrid model in between,” Falvey added.

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