Rishi Sunak Calls on Home Working to End

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26 March 2021

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has told a British newspaper that workers must be allowed to return to the office or they may “vote with their feet” and resign.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Sunak commented: “You can’t beat the spontaneity, the team building, the culture that you create in a firm or an organisation from people actually spending physical time together.” 

He also suggested that employees may “vote with their feet” and quit in favour of bricks-and-mortar based rivals if these opportunities aren’t provided. 

When Will Offices Reopen in 2021?

It’s been just over a whole year of working from home for many of us, however 54 per cent of us are apparently happy to continue working from home for as long as necessary.  

However, the mental strain of a radically changed working life can’t be underestimated. Our working social lives are all but reliant on online get-togethers, creative and collaborative work faces additional barriers and our work-life balance is suffering. 

This uncertainty is leading many to predict when exactly will we return to our offices, if at all.

More Than a Third of Companies Will Move to Smaller Offices in 2021 

Following reports that Nationwide is to allow 13,000 office staff to choose where they work under a new flexible working scheme, serviced office agent FreeOfficeFinder has reported that 35 per cent of firms are planning on taking smaller offices. 

The average desk rates in London and the UK decreased by more than 7 per cent from January 2020 to January 2021. Almost two-thirds cite employee demand for flexible working as a factor, with an average reduction of space at 20 per cent per company.

This echoes other recent research that shows that UK office workers value their new norm of working from home so much that many would forsake career progression, company benefits and even a pay rise to maintain it.

Ezra, a provider of digital coaching, has also found from their research of 1,976 UK office workers that just a quarter of workers plan to return to the office full time. 

Picture: a photograph of Rishi Sunak. Image Credit: Chris McAndrew. Link to license here

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 26 March 2021

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