Nearly half of professionals would consider quitting if their employer forced them back to the office on a full-time basis, according to a new poll that suggests strife ahead amid a spate of companies issuing return-to-office mandates.

While overall 48% of workers surveyed said they would consider handing in their notice over the requirement for full-time office attendance, female workers would be more likely to do this (58%) compared with men (42%).

Hybrid working, with time spend split between the office and another location such as home, is the working pattern for more than three-quarters (77%) of the workforce, according to the 8,000-plus UK organisations and professionals across a range of sectors surveyed in February by the recruitment company Hays.

Three days a week in the office is the most popular hybrid working arrangement, which has been implemented by a quarter (25%) of firms surveyed. This figure has remained steady since Hays’ last survey, six months previously.

Just over a fifth (22%) of employers allow their workers to choose how many days they work remotely, which has fallen slightly from the 26% recorded six months earlier.

However, a fifth of organisations have asked their employees to attend the workplace more often.

Despite the recent headlines, after firms including Amazon, accountants PwC and lender Santander called for their staff to spend more time at their desks, only 8% of employers surveyed said they had plans to mandate a return to the office in the next six months.

Meanwhile, two-thirds (66%) of employers said they had concerns that forcing people back to the office more frequently would prompt a backlash from staff.

The cost of commuting was the top factor affecting a decision on returning to office more regularly, according to almost three-quarters (73%) of professionals. Working in the office full time would increase commuting costs for the vast majority (88%) of workers.

More than half (59%) of women surveyed said that additional commuting costs would affect their general finances, compared with 41% of men.

“Employers need to realise they are at serious risk of losing top talent if they make a full-time return-to-office compulsory, as our research clearly shows how highly professionals still value the option to work from home,” said Pam Lindsay-Dunn, chief operating officer of Hays UK and Ireland.

“Before making any significant changes to their current working model, employers must look at the bigger picture and consider key factors such as the cost of commuting, work-life balance, employee wellbeing, productivity and the host of benefits that hybrid working can bring to their business, in order to retain talent in a tough market,” she added.

More than half (52%) of employers who responded to the poll said they believed productivity was equal between home workers and office workers, while a further 19% said they viewed home workers as more productive than those based in the office.

Just over a tenth (13%) of employers surveyed said that staff working from home were less productive than their counterparts in the office.