City centres are being warned by business groups that they could become ‘ghost towns’ as the YouGov survey of over 2,500 British adults found that just 31 per cent thought that home working staff should be encouraged to return to the office.
In comparison, 41 per cent of the respondents said that workers should not be encouraged to return and 22 per were unsure.
The poll found a variation amongst the different age groups, with 54 per cent of the 18 to 24 year olds saying that workers should not be encouraged to return to the work place, compared to only 26 per cent who thought that they should.
Amongst the 25 to 49 year olds, 52 per cent said that workers should not be encouraged to return to the workplace – whilst just 25 per cent said that they should. Of the 50 to 64 year olds, 45 per cent said employees should not be encouraged back to the office against 32 per cent saying they should return.
Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry - Dame Carolyn Fairbairn - writing for the Daily Mail, urged UK businesses to bring staff back stating that the UK’s offices are vital drivers of the economy. She wrote:
“The costs of office closure are becoming clearer by the day. Some of our busiest city centres resemble ghost towns, missing the usual bustle of passing trade. This comes at a high price for local businesses, jobs and communities. Remote working has been a resounding success for many firms and employees, and none of these benefits should be lost. Many people have never worked harder, keeping businesses afloat from their desks and kitchen tables. Flexible working is here to stay and needs to remain an option for many. But there are serious downsides too.”
She added:
“For young people, learning face-to-face in the workplace is an unbeatable way to build skills and confidence. We must not deprive the next generation of this opportunity. Not everyone has the space to work effectively at home – an ironing board in the bedroom does not make a great workspace. And the mental health challenges triggered by isolation are all too real for many.”
However, Health Secretary Matt Hancock - speaking on Times Radio - said:
“What I care about is how effectively people work and obviously people should come back to the office if that is what they need to do their job.”
He stated that it was up to employers to make sure their workplaces were Covid secure – something he said his department had done – but went on to say:
“What I care about is that people perform and so the people I work with, some of them have been working from home, some come in sometimes, some are in full-time, and what matters to me is that they deliver and, frankly, they’ve been delivering at an unbelievable rate.”
Dame Carolyn Fairbairn urgently requested mass widespread testing including in the workplace to help people feel confident and safe and stating that more flexible working is indisputably a good thing for the economy and quality of life, but there must be a balance. She wrote:
“It’s time for the UK to bring its workplaces back to life, or we will look back with regret at the jobs lost, training missed, and communities harmed.”
