Britain’s economy dragged back 20 years by people working from home, blasts retail chief
BRITAIN’S economy has been dragged back 20 years by people working from home, a retail chief has blasted.
Lord Rose argued the rise in remote jobs has created a generation of employees who are not doing “proper work”.
The ex-Asda boss also said there is a link between flexible working and a rise in mental health struggles among young people.
When asked if the UK could afford to work from home, he told the BBC One’s Panorama programme: “I don’t believe it can.
“This country is in a parlous place, we have regressed in this country in terms of working practices, productivity and in terms of the country’s wellbeing, I think, by 20 years in the last four.
“We are creating a whole generation and probably a generation beyond that of people who are used to actually not doing what I call proper work.
“I believe that productivity is less good if you work from home. I believe that your personal development suffers, that you’re not going to develop as well as you might if you’ve been in the workplace as long as I have.”
The businessman added: “I think lastly, there is a connection, a correlation, yet to be proven no doubt, between the current state of mental health of particularly young people and the number of people who are working away from a workplace. I think it’s bad.”
Remote working policies started during Covid lockdowns, with office workers leading the shift.
The number of people working from home more than doubled, from 4.7 million in 2019 to nearly 10 million by 2022.
The most recent official data showed that 28 per cent of the UK workforce is in hybrid work, 13 per cent of people are fully remote and 44 per cent travel to work.
According to an October survey by the Office for National Statistics, people working from home said they spent more time on rest, exercise, and wellbeing when able to stay out of the office on some days.
But big companies like Amazon, Boots, and JP Morgan have all recently called staff back full-time, claiming face-to-face contact makes employees more productive.
Last year, No10 slammed an outdated “presenteeism” culture, insisting flexible work practices could boost productivity.
But the Prime Minister’s spokesman yesterday said the Government sees the “clear benefits of spending time working together face to face”, adding: “That is why the Government has set out rules for civil servants in terms of working in the office.
“More broadly, it’s obviously up to employers to work out what is in the best interests of their employees and arrangements that are good for productivity etc.”