Britain’s white-collar workers are among the world’s most ardent fans of working from home, with more than half saying they would quit their jobs if they were ordered back into the office full time.

Five years after the first pandemic lockdown upended people’s work routines, desk-based UK employees are now working from home 1.8 days per week on average, according to a new study by academics at King’s College London (KCL).

That compares with a global average of 1.3 days per week and makes the UK the number one country for working from home in Europe. On a global stage, KCL’s Global Survey of Working Arrangements, which polled 16,000 people from 40 countries, found that only Canadians are averaging more days a week at home, with 1.9.

The findings echo the results of other recent surveys which have also highlighted the popularity of working from home in the UK.

“This isn’t just a post-pandemic hangover — British workers have clearly decided they’re not going back to the old ways,” Cevat Giray Aksoy, associate professor of economics at KCL, said. “Remote work has moved from being an emergency response to becoming a defining feature of the UK labour market.”

A number of the world’s biggest companies have started to tighten their rules on working from home, particularly in financial services. Earlier this month, Blackrock, the world’s largest investment firm, told its senior managers they need to be back in the office five days a week, following the lead set by the likes of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan. Businesses in other sectors, such as Dell, Amazon, WPP and Boots, have also curtailed their flexible working policies.

The moves do not appear to be going down well with workers, however. Separate research from King’s College London showed that 58 per cent of white-collar employees in the UK would either quit on the spot or start looking for a new job if they were forced to go in five days a week.

Heejung Chung, professor of work and employment at KCL, said workers are “now seeing flexibility as the norm”. She added: “Rather than forcing a return to pre-pandemic working patterns, organisations should be looking to formalise hybrid models, invest in remote collaboration tools, and set up coordinated in-office days to maximise engagement. Importantly, those who are able to work remotely tend to be more loyal and committed to their jobs.”

The studies show a growing divide between employers and employees in terms of in-office working. Whereas staff remain reluctant to go into the office beyond two or three days a week, bosses are using the slowdown in the hiring market, which they believe has swung the balance of power back in their favour, to enforce stricter rules.

A survey of chief executives conducted by KPMG, the Big Four accounting and consulting firm, last year found that 83 per cent expect their employees to be back in the office full-time by 2027.

That has already happened in East Asia, according to KCL, with workers in that part of the world averaging fewer than a day a week at home. In Japan and South Korea, office culture “remains dominant”, the researchers said.

But Aksoy expects higher levels of working from home to persist in Western countries including the UK and the US. In the UK, KCL’s data shows that work-from-home levels, after dipping in 2023, have stabilised and are “showing no signs of retreat” despite big businesses’ return-to-office campaigns.

“Hybrid work is no longer the exception — it’s the expectation,” Aksoy said. “Workers in the UK are using remote work not just for convenience, but as a way to rethink their priorities — whether that’s spending time with family, avoiding long commutes, or living further from expensive city centres.”