21-05-2025
Working from beach had its time in the sun. Now it's back to offices
It's 10am and half the tables at a bijou café near Finchley Central Tube station in London are empty. Back in January the place was packed, unofficially converted into a co-working space with laptops trailing from every plug socket.
This week, the barista said, most of the iced latte orders were takeaways for commuters. It is a visible sign that the post-Covid change in Britain's working patterns, when flexible hours and working from home (WFH) looked like a permanent trend, is now reversing.
Flexibility was a key perk during the ultra-competitive hiring market but the tougher labour market has given employers the upper hand. Job vacancies fell to the lowest level in nearly four years in April, according to the Office for National Statistics,
