Won’t somebody think of the landlords! As working from home becomes more common in the UK, the amount of vacant office space in major cities is up, cried the latest Panorama: Should We Still Be Working From Home? (BBC One, 20 January, 8pm).
The repercussions are severe, the programme posited: TfL fare take is down, city coffee shops are struggling and in the launderettes, there are fewer suits to clean.
Former CEO of M&S and ex-Ocado and Asda chairman Stuart Rose is almightily peeved. “This country” he bristled, “is in a parlous place.” Hybrid working has created a generation “not doing what I call proper work”, he claimed – and the UK has regressed 20 years in the past four on productivity and mental health (notably, no evidence was provided). Panorama didn’t mention Rose’s parting back-to-the-office order at Asda, which went down like a sack of manure and has seen something of a tech team exodus.
So what are home-workers doing all day? Panorama strongly suggested they were all playing golf on company time, given weekday rounds are on the rise.
Little time was given to the other side of the coin. How much money and time are workers saving per week on commuting, childcare, lower rents in the suburbs? How are local high streets doing now there’s more footfall?
Only one academic was interviewed. Hybrid working results in equivalent productivity and happier workers, research suggests. But Rose didn’t get the opportunity of better work-life balance, so neither should you.
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