Study finds people earning less than R40k a month are heading back to the office full-time

A new study has found people earning less than R40,000 a month have gone back to working from the office full-time compared to top earners. 

BrandMapp conducted a survey based on a sample of more than 33,000 respondents, representing 12.8 million South African adults living in households with monthly income exceeding R10,000. 

The study showed that in line with global working trends, there’s an average of 39% of the world’s workforce practising hybrid work and there is a limited return to the five-day office week. 

It found almost half of the middle-class earning under R40,000 a month has returned to the pre-pandemic work routine, while 36% of them have become hybrid workers. For the top earners, it’s almost exactly the other way around with only 37% of them in their workplaces all week, and 46% splitting their times.

“Some of them are no doubt enjoying the peace and quiet, and better coffee, that comes with working from home for at least part of the working week”, said BrandMapp director of storytelling Brandon de Kock.

“This matches other data coming out of countries with developed economies showing that more executive-level workers are benefiting from hybrid work models, while the workers have been summoned back to their desks.”

De Kock said 58% of middle-class South Africans embracing hybrid work are employed in the country’s financial services industry, arguably the ultimate, traditional cubicle-dweller workplaces. 

“Who says, ‘you can’t teach an old dog a new trick’? On the lower end of this scale, it’s also significant that one third of middle-class-and-up South African government employees are looking at hybrid work options.”  

De Kock said the more interesting change in 2022 is about where and how the middle-class is employed.

“What’s important to note is that government employment is static with the same 29% of mid- and top income earners in state jobs this year. 

“However, there’s a significant shift away from employment in large companies with over 1,000 employees to smaller concerns. Is this because the corporate behemoths are less inclined to enable the more flexible working conditions that employees are wanting?” he said.

TimesLIVE

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.