The British sense of humour is renowned around the world and a new survey reveals that it is the workplace banter that has been missed most during lockdown.
Some 40% of over 1,300 workers surveyed cited workplace banter as the thing they were looking forward to and 34% said they were looking forward to socialising again with colleagues.
While some people have embraced spending more time with their families, with 24% saying they will miss spending time with the people they live with, there have been mixed feelings with 18% looking forward to spending LESS time with the people they live with.
The move back to the office has some downsides with 41% saying they were not looking forward to commuting and 28% not looking forward to the restarting of office politics and gossip.
Some people have work to do before they get back to the office, as the majority of UK adults (55%) admitted to letting grooming standards slip in lockdown.
When asked what they’d ‘let slip’ people confessed to: not showering daily (16%), not using deodorant daily (11%), leaving hair unwashed (18%), not brushing their teeth daily (9%) and not regularly changing underwear (6%).
The most common things workers are planning to do to prepare for a return to the office are:
· Have a haircut/re-style/dyed (21%)
· Re-organise their work bag (16%)
· Dry clean or launder work clothes (9%)
Angela Freeth, of Laundrapp, said: “After such a long time in lockdown, it is no surprise that we are craving banter with our colleagues.
“While we can’t guarantee the office jokes will be fresh, we can help you get your work suits and shirts clean and ready to get back into the swing of things.”