17 hours ago
More than a third of UK workers worried after back to office mandates
A fear of back to office mandates are affecting UK staff wellbeing, a poll has found. The Guardian newspaper reports more than a third of employees surveyed say tales about firms hardening stance have had an impact.
28 per cent of workers surveyed said back to office orders had negatively affected their wellbeing. 84 per cent of employees who work in a hybrid way said it had a positive effect on their overall wellbeing.
The survey was of 3,600 UK employers and employees across a range of industries by the recruitment company Hays. Hannah Pearsall, the head of wellbeing at Hays, said: 'The popularity of hybrid working shows no signs of wavering any time soon and the role this flexible working pattern plays in improving wellbeing should not be overlooked.
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"A lack of awareness around the impact of RTO [return to office] on wellbeing, particularly financial wellbeing, could be catastrophic for the sustained success of their business.'
It comes weeks after the former boss of Asda has said the WFH culture has created a generation of people who are "not doing proper work".
Lord Rose of Monewden, 75, added he the new way of working is contributing to the economy's decline. The entrepreneur, who served as chairman of Asda from 2021 until last November, believes people are less productive at home than they are in offices.
The Conservative peer who was knighted for services to the retail industry said: "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."
Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), from December last year revealed that 26 per cent of people had been hybrid working in the previous week, while 13 per cent had been fully remote. Four in ten people said they had been in the office full time the previous week, while the remaining fifth were not working at the time.
