Birmingham works harder than Leeds, according to poll

Birmingham has been named one of the top five hardest working cities in the UK.

The city ranked fourth in the poll, ahead of Leeds which came fifth.

Birmingham was beaten by Sheffield which came out top, followed by Belfast and Glasgow.

The study polling 2,000 office workers revealed the different attitudes to work between UK cities - with those based in Sheffield working the longest hours.

And 83 per cent of workers in the Yorkshire city have worked more than their contracted hours.

In contrast, Glaswegians enjoy the earliest finishes, while workers based in Leeds think they are the most sociable outside of work.

Companies in Newcastle and Leeds came out joint top for being the most appreciative of staff and colleagues.

What else did the poll discover about attitude to work across the UK?

It also emerged two thirds of all workers generally enjoy where they work, with the average worker typically taking part in two social events per month.

A further 38 per cent consider their colleagues as friends, with 21 per cent enjoying their company outside of work at least twice a month.

Since the start of the pandemic and introduction of flexible working, 72 per cent now enjoy work more because of it.

And a third are now taking longer lunch breaks when working from the comfort of their own home.

Despite this, 51 per cent reckon they are generally working more - with 49 per cent going past their contracted hours on all or most of the days they work.

Overall, 66 per cent feel their company has benefited from hybrid working, with 63 per cent surprised at how they used to work in the office five days a week.

As a result, nearly a third of those polled, via OnePoll, would be sad if the hybrid working model was scrapped and a further 20 per cent would feel angry.

What has the company conducting the poll said about the results?

Richard Smith, CEO of global flexible workspace brokerage Office Freedom [https://www.officefreedom.com/], which commissioned the research, said: "Every city is different when it comes to the way its businesses operate.

“It’s been really interesting to see how different areas of the UK vary and how the nation feels about their workplace and its habits in general.

“But it seems there are some parts of the UK where workers are happier than others.”

Richard Smith, from Office Freedom, added: “This new way of working is finally here - and it’s here to stay.

“It has been on the cusp for a while, but it seemed the pandemic gave it the push it needed to move us into the future of hybrid working.

“With companies trialling four-day weeks, flexibility is more important now than ever. I don’t think we’ll ever see the UK, or even the world, go back to old working habits which is really exciting.”

Top 5 hardest working cities

1. Sheffield

2. Belfast

3. Glasgow

4. Birmingham

5. Leeds

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