Bosses ‘want staff back in the office rather than working from home’

MOST bosses want staff back in the office rather than working from home, a business chief says.

Companies have put up with workers only going in on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday — if at all.

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And Tony Danker, the director general of the Confederation of British Industry, said the world of work had “gone crazy” since the pandemic.

Mr Danker, whose group represents 190,000 businesses, told a BBC podcast: “You ask most bosses — everybody secretly wants everyone to come back into the office.

“I just don’t think that’s going to happen overnight. I think we are all coping with this but we’re going to be talking about this for a few years.”

Around 38 per cent of workers are still doing so from home, according to official figures.

Before the pandemic, just 5.7 per cent worked from home but that rose to 43.1 per cent just a month into lockdown.

A recent poll found a quarter of workers wanted to work from home permanently while another quarter wanted to return to the office full-time.

The remaining 50 per cent prefer a hybrid arrangement. 

Many enjoy the flexibility of a couple of days a week working from home, allowing them to walk the dog, avoid commutes, take exercise or juggle parenting and caring responsibilities.

But some businesses fear they are falling behind their rivals as a result of home working.

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