Midlands faces mass exodus as workers migrate North and South
Universal connectivity is going to transform the population map of the UK according to ’Connected Britain’, a new research report from Orange. The South West of England could see a population increase of more than 150% by 2015 as universal access to reliable and fast internet - as outlined in the Government’s Digital Britain report - allows more people the flexibility to live and work in a place of their choosing.
London would retain its place as a top location with a 40% increase predicted, while Scotland could see a population jump of more than 50% as workers head North.
Some areas of the country, including the East and West Midlands and parts of the North will become less congested as many workers from those regions opt instead for the coasts or mountains. Major cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester could see as much as an 80% decrease in residents.
Region Population change+
Scotland up 58%
North East down 35%
North West down 9.5%
Yorkshire and The Humber down 35%
West Midlands down 81%
East Midlands down 70%
Wales up 5%
South West up 158%
South East down 3%
London up 40%
The cities where significant increases in new residents are anticipated, such as Scotland and the South West of England, could present new opportunities for local businesses as demand for their services increases, not to mention savvy property developers and owners, could see increased demand for residential and commercial properties.
The report, which included a survey of 3,281 office workers from the UK also revealed that UK business could save up to £31.7 billion* by giving employees the ability to work more flexibly. In addition, 16% of respondents would be happy to take a pay cut (on average £6,900) and 42% would be willing to give up perks such as a company car or private health insurance (33%).
“Much like the industrial revolution, the digital revolution we are currently going through will forever change the way we all lead our lives. Not just from a social perspective, but the way we work and the places we can work from. The long-entrenched domination of the South East in Britain’s economic structure could at last be coming to a close, with many workers wanted to trade their city lives to work from more rural and idyllic parts of the country. Our report reveals that a digitally connected country could change the face of Britain as we know it,” said Robert Ainger, Director of Corporate Marketing, Orange UK.
“Universal connectivity is already having a huge impact on our lives,” said Futurologist James Bellini. “Our research shows that already 39% of people are able to work some or all of the time from a location of their choice and employees are increasingly realising that they can be just as productive working from home or on the move. As connectivity across Britain increases, so too will mobile working, making the traditional office almost obsolete. In fact, by 2020, a successful and forward-looking business will have no HQ, probably no CEO and only a fraction of the fixed assets it has today."
Notes to Editors
Total cost savings would be £32 billion based on ONS UK working population of 29m (of which 16% would be willing to take a paycut), combined with an estimated 1.3 million workers (of which 42% would be willing to forgo the car) with company car with average running costs of £250 per month. Once the cost of providing these employees with the technology needed to work flexibly is removed (as little as £55 per month for Orange internet, laptap and mobile phone) UK business stands to save £31.7 billion.
Population changes based on YouGov Research (compared with the latest ONS population statistics). Research methodology
The survey was conducted using an online interview administered by members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 185,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys. An email was sent to panellists selected at random from the base sample according to the sample definition, inviting them to take part in the survey and providing a link to the survey. YouGov Plc normally achieves a response rate of between 35% and 50% to surveys, however, this does vary dependent upon the subject matter, complexity and length of the questionnaire. The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if not available from the census, from industry accepted data.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 3281 adults working in an office. Fieldwork was undertaken between 23rd June - 1st July 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
London would retain its place as a top location with a 40% increase predicted, while Scotland could see a population jump of more than 50% as workers head North.
Some areas of the country, including the East and West Midlands and parts of the North will become less congested as many workers from those regions opt instead for the coasts or mountains. Major cities such as Leeds, Birmingham and Manchester could see as much as an 80% decrease in residents.
Region Population change+
Scotland up 58%
North East down 35%
North West down 9.5%
Yorkshire and The Humber down 35%
West Midlands down 81%
East Midlands down 70%
Wales up 5%
South West up 158%
South East down 3%
London up 40%
The cities where significant increases in new residents are anticipated, such as Scotland and the South West of England, could present new opportunities for local businesses as demand for their services increases, not to mention savvy property developers and owners, could see increased demand for residential and commercial properties.
The report, which included a survey of 3,281 office workers from the UK also revealed that UK business could save up to £31.7 billion* by giving employees the ability to work more flexibly. In addition, 16% of respondents would be happy to take a pay cut (on average £6,900) and 42% would be willing to give up perks such as a company car or private health insurance (33%).
“Much like the industrial revolution, the digital revolution we are currently going through will forever change the way we all lead our lives. Not just from a social perspective, but the way we work and the places we can work from. The long-entrenched domination of the South East in Britain’s economic structure could at last be coming to a close, with many workers wanted to trade their city lives to work from more rural and idyllic parts of the country. Our report reveals that a digitally connected country could change the face of Britain as we know it,” said Robert Ainger, Director of Corporate Marketing, Orange UK.
“Universal connectivity is already having a huge impact on our lives,” said Futurologist James Bellini. “Our research shows that already 39% of people are able to work some or all of the time from a location of their choice and employees are increasingly realising that they can be just as productive working from home or on the move. As connectivity across Britain increases, so too will mobile working, making the traditional office almost obsolete. In fact, by 2020, a successful and forward-looking business will have no HQ, probably no CEO and only a fraction of the fixed assets it has today."
Notes to Editors
Total cost savings would be £32 billion based on ONS UK working population of 29m (of which 16% would be willing to take a paycut), combined with an estimated 1.3 million workers (of which 42% would be willing to forgo the car) with company car with average running costs of £250 per month. Once the cost of providing these employees with the technology needed to work flexibly is removed (as little as £55 per month for Orange internet, laptap and mobile phone) UK business stands to save £31.7 billion.
Population changes based on YouGov Research (compared with the latest ONS population statistics). Research methodology
The survey was conducted using an online interview administered by members of the YouGov Plc GB panel of 185,000+ individuals who have agreed to take part in surveys. An email was sent to panellists selected at random from the base sample according to the sample definition, inviting them to take part in the survey and providing a link to the survey. YouGov Plc normally achieves a response rate of between 35% and 50% to surveys, however, this does vary dependent upon the subject matter, complexity and length of the questionnaire. The responding sample is weighted to the profile of the sample definition to provide a representative reporting sample. The profile is normally derived from census data or, if not available from the census, from industry accepted data.
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 3281 adults working in an office. Fieldwork was undertaken between 23rd June - 1st July 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).
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