DORSET Council staff have mainly adapted to working from home during lockdown - although some have said they would prefer to be back in the office and more than half miss seeing their colleagues.

A council staff survey showed that the majority who responded were happy to continue working flexibly, although not necessarily all the time -  90 per cent said they wanted to work flexibly one day a week, or more; 53% opted for a few days a week; 29% said every day.

72 per cent said they believed that 80-100 per cent of their role can be carried out away from the traditional workplace.

Six out of ten said the biggest benefits had been spending less time travelling; almost half liked the greater flexibility and a similar percentage felt working away from the office offered a better work-life balance.

But there were negatives – 55% felt isolated from colleagues; 27% mentioned difficulties in getting access to resources/information to work from home and 22% said they had suffered internet problems.

The survey was carried out as the council investigates new ways of working which could see many council staff continuing to work from home, or arrive at a balance between home and office working. The council has said that most staff will continue to work flexibly until at least the end of March.

Said the conclusion to the report: “Feedback from our engagement shows that many colleagues can and would like to continue working from or out of their home for part of their working week. This flexibility is known to improve people’s work/life balance. Spending less time travelling to work is seen by most as a clear benefit.”