London: As COVID-19 brings the world closer to its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, workers in the UK may be coming out of the pandemic with considerable savings, the results of a nationwide survey suggest.
Two thirds of British workers have been better off financially since lockdown, a survey commissioned by Eskenzi PR has found. Out of the more than 1000 people who were surveyed, 30 per cent said they saved on lunches by working from home, 60 per cent of people saved money by not going out, and 50 per cent saved on commuting costs.
The 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,” said Yvonne Eskenzi, Co-founder of Eskenzi PR, in a statement.
The study also found that almost 90 percent of those employed in the financial sector reported savings. Similarly, those in IT, legal, HR and education also managed to increase their savings during the months of lockdown.Even key workers were able to save, despite still having to commute to work. In fact, 65 per cent of retail workers, builders and manual labourers reported being better off financially since March 2020.
Nearly a third of the respondents cited food as one of the main reasons they were able to save money. Government schemes such as ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ contributed to some savings. By making lunch at home, workers managed to save an average of £820 over the 6-month lockdown period. The survey assumes that the average cost of eating out at lunch is £3.56 from Monday to Friday - resulting in savings of £8.1 billion.
Thanks to these benefits, 35 per cent of respondents said that their ability to save while working from home is one of the reasons why they are not looking forward to returning to office. The survey also found that one in two people were able to save money by working from home by eliminating hefty travel costs.
