A quarter of people now want to work completely remotely, so they can live anywhere in the world while working for UK companies, research shows

Working from home has become one of the main battlegrounds in the culture wars – and now almost one in four people think they should be allowed to work in WFA (work from abroad) at all.

Researchers found that 23 percent of people want to work completely remotely, so they can live anywhere in the world while working for companies based in the UK.

Generation Z are the most keen to relocate – with 44 per cent of those aged 18 to 24 saying working from home could extend to working from abroad.

Millennials are the next most eager, with 35 percent of 25 to 39-year-olds believing that if they are allowed to work from home, they should be allowed to move internationally.

Those aged 40 to 55 – Generation X – and are less keen with 27 who believe they should be allowed to work from abroad.

And the Baby Boomer generation – those over 55 – shun the idea, with only 17 percent attracted to it.

International money app Zing asked 2,000 UK adults if they thought the culture of working from home should be extended to allow them to work from abroad.

James Allen, founder and chief executive of Zing, said: ‘Our research shows that opinions about telecommuting internationally are evolving across all age groups in the UK.

“Accelerated by Covid-19 lockdowns, employees are increasingly exploring opportunities to work remotely across the globe.

‘Remote work offers exciting opportunities, including the chance to immerse yourself in different cultures over a longer period.’

Generation Z are the most eager to relocate – with 44 percent of those aged 18 to 24 saying working from home could extend to working from abroad (stock image)

A Mail on Sunday investigation in February found that the NHS has allowed hundreds of staff, including senior consultants and managers, to work thousands of miles from the UK.

Freedom of Information requests showed staff working as far away as Australia and Japan, where at least 335 NHS staff from 33 trusts were allowed to work overseas in the past two years.

The real figure is certain to be much higher as 200 trusts and bodies did not respond to the requests from FoI and 35 said they did not have such data.

In September last year, it emerged that 1,350 municipal employees have also been granted permission to work from abroad following freedom of information requests from the Taxpayers’ Alliance.

The number jumped from 73 approvals in 2021-22 to 440 in 2021-22.

That then rose to more than 700 last year as the telecommuting revolution took hold.

One local authority granted 300 requests over the three-year period.

Overall, researchers found that more than half – 62 percent of Generation Z – now believe that at least part of their working life will now be spent abroad.

And 17 per cent across all ages said they did not want to be restricted by their company to only working in the UK.

Spain is the top choice for people looking to work abroad, with 40 percent of all age groups saying they would like to work there.

Millennials are the next most eager, with 35 percent of 25 to 39-year-olds believing that if they are allowed to work from home, they should be allowed to move internationally (stock image)

Canada also ranked highly with a third – 33 per cent – saying they would like to work there, with the US at 31 per cent.

Australia came fourth on 30 percent with Italy in fifth on 28 percent along with New Zealand.

According to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics, 16 per cent of UK working adults worked from home from September 2022 to January last year (2023).

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, about one in eight working adults – about 12 percent – worked from home.

London workers reported the highest levels of hybrid working, with four in ten working both from home and commuting.