9-5 office job could be history

A survey of 10,000 adults in five countries, including 2,000 in the UK, found that only 14 per cent wanted to work in an office in the future.

About one in five of those surveyed by professional services firm PwC said they would prefer to work in a “virtual” environment, where they could work from any location.

The report said the lack of interest in working in an office showed a growing desire for people to have more flexibility in their careers.

Jon Andrews, of PwC, said the research showed that traditional nine-to-five office working could soon be consigned to history for many employees. People feel strongly that they no longer want to work within the constraints of the typical office environment and advances in technology mean that workers no longer have to be shackled to their desks,” he added.

“We predict that many organisations will embrace these changes in employee working preferences and use them to their own advantage.

“We could easily see the rise of organisations that have a core team that embodies the philosophy and values of the company, but the rest of the workforce is not fixed and come in and out on a project-by-project basis.

“These companies will make extensive use of technology to run their businesses, co-ordinate a largely external workforce and support their relationships with third parties.”