In a recent BBC documentary, Lord Rose, the former boss of Asda, said home working was contributing to the “general decline” of the UK economy.
In what is an incredibly bold statement for an unelected peer, he also claimed that remote working is “not proper work”.
But he’s not alone in his thinking.
Amazon and Boots are two companies that now require their head office employees to be physically present in the office every day.
These decisions are always framed as a way to drive productivity and build a sense of camaraderie in workplaces.
But in reality, they’re just another example of how out of touch some employers are with the realities of modern life.
It obviously goes without saying that the pandemic was a horrific event that upended every aspect of our lives.
But if there’s one silver lining to emerge, it’s surely the acceptance of remote and flexible working. For the first time, many people were able to balance their work and personal lives in ways that were previously unimaginable.
For women in particular, flexible working is a game-changer.
It allows people to take on roles they’d once have been forced to count themselves out of because of childcare commitments.
‘Equal footing’
Flexible working is one of the reasons that I chose to become a freelancer. I’m a single mum.
If I had to commute to an office each day I’d have to pay for wraparound childcare.
I’d have less time to spend with my daughter and I’d have to fork out hundreds of pounds each month on public transport. And I still wouldn’t be able to afford to get on the housing ladder.
Women, who disproportionately bear the brunt of unpaid care, can now take part in the workforce on a more equal footing.
For decades, we’ve heard how women’s career progression stalls because of choices they make to prioritise family over work.
But it’s not a real choice when the structure of the workplace doesn’t bend to accommodate real life.
The loudest critics of remote working are often the same people who yearn for a world that no longer exists.
That is no surprise, when you think about it, because it’s a world that worked well for them but not for everyone else.
Company bosses lament the loss of the office environment, blaming remote work for everything from poor collaboration to declining team spirit.
But the people shouting the loudest about this apparently lazy and entitled new generation of workers are the same ones who’ve spent decades overseeing stagnant wages, inflexible working patterns and precarious contracts.
It’s not low-income workers who are demanding a return to full-time office life.
It’s the executives – or Lords – earning decent salaries.
They can’t understand why someone wouldn’t want to spend two hours and hundreds of pounds a month commuting to sit in a horribly-lit office where you breathe in other people’s germs for eight hours a day.
Remote working is ‘solution to an evolving problem’
The office culture they idolise is already on life support.
Not because of remote work, but because the social contract that once made employment stable and rewarding has broken down.
Working full-time used to mean you could support your family, save for a house and have a bit of financial security in your old age.
Today, a 40-hour week in the office doesn’t even guarantee you can pay the rent.
Remote work really isn’t the enemy, Lord Rose. It’s a solution to an evolving problem.
It offers flexibility, saves money, and lets people work to live, rather than just living to work.
So maybe instead of clinging to the past, businesses should focus on adapting to the future.
Conversation