Farage says ‘daily grind beats work-life balance’ in attack on WFH

Nigel Farage has blasted working from home as ‘a load of nonsense’ as he urged Brits to return to the office.

The Reform UK leader told a 2,000-strong rally in Birmingham that ‘hard work’ was more important than ‘work-life balance’.

Farage told the ‘Time for Reform’ event at the NEC: ‘You can’t go on the sick because you’ve got mild anxiety.

‘But it is an attitudinal change that Britain needs. An attitudinal change to hard work, rather than work-life balance.

‘An attitudinal change to the idea of working from home. People aren’t more productive working at home – it’s a load of nonsense.

‘They’re more productive being with other fellow human beings and working as part of a team.’

Remote working became commonplace in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic as employers looked to prevent the spread of the virus.

Millions of workers found they preferred these flexible arrangements.

Between late 2019 and early 2022, the number of people working from home rose from 4.7 million to 9.9 million, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The latest statistics from YouGov show that 49% of British workers work from home all or some of the time.

That’s even more than in December 2021, when 43% of those surveyed said they worked from home at least some of the time.

Farage has employed these tactics before, slamming remote working in the build-up to last year’s May local elections, where Reform gained control of ten local councils.

He vowed to set up local departments of government efficiency – modelled on the US state department launched by Elon Musk last year – and to insist on council staff coming into the office.

So Farage was ridiculed when it emerged that several Reform UK roles, such as ‘regional director’, were offering ‘home working with occasional travel’.

Rupert Lowe, a former Reform UK MP who was stripped of the party whip over allegations of bullying, took to X to criticise his former boss’s latest statements as ‘predictable and boring’.

‘Farage blaming “work from home” for Britain’s troubles is just so lazy, whilst attacking the idea of youngsters seeking a work-life balance,’ he wrote.

He said working from home made it easier for families to raise children, adding: ‘A lawful relationship between an employee and a private employer is none of our businesses.

‘If they decide working from home is workable, then good for them. If not, that’s fine too.’

But Farage could face opposition from campaigners, including those from disability charity Scope.

Abdi Mohamed, Scope’s Head of Policy, told Metro that ‘a lack of flexible working opportunities is holding disabled people back.’

”Flexible working often gives space for work and room to manage health conditions,’ he said.

‘Disabled people can work around medical appointments, and work from home if travelling is difficult.’

Leo Biggins, CEO and Founder of CV Library, said that research shows that UK workers prefer hybrid arrangements over working from home full-time.

He also said there was evidence that employers are already ‘encouraging more office time to boost collaboration, mentorship, and career development’.

‘Loneliness, reduced collaboration, and fewer learning opportunities remain the main downsides of fully remote roles,’ he said.

‘Younger generations, particularly Gen Z, are most enthusiastic about in-person work, with 66% saying it helps their career progression and wellbeing.’

Working from home has emerged as a key battleground in the UK’s culture wars.

According to research by the Commons Library, hybrid workers tend to have higher-level qualifications, be London-based, and aged between 30 and 49.

In November 2025, a House of Lords committee published a report assessing whether remote working boosted or drained productivity.

The inquiry concluded that evidence did not point to either consistent productivity gains or losses from hybrid working.

It found that hybrid working could benefit both employers and employees, but that there was no ‘one size fits all’ approach.

The Department for Work and Pensions was approached for comment.

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