Chancellor makes the case for the office - expert comment
Commenting on the Chancellor's remarks, Dr Erika Kispeter, Senior Research Fellow, Warwick Institute for Employment Research, said:
"Research shows that while most people have adapted well to working from home, they miss the more creative aspects of face to face meetings and informal discussions with colleagues. Networking and informal mentoring are indeed essential to career development in certain organisations and employees working from home miss out on these aspects of work.
"While these findings give support to the Chancellor’s arguments in favour of working in an office, an important consideration that was not mentioned by the Chancellor is the quality of the work space: junior staff often works in less than ideal environments both in the office (hot desking and noisy open plan offices) and at home (shared accommodation).
"Looking ahead, many employees would prefer a ‘hybrid’ way of working, which would allow them to combine working from home and working in the office, with the freedom to choose between these options."
26 March 2021