‘Five-day office week will become the norm again’, says think tank

Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in London
Centre for Cities think tank believe there will be shift back to pre-Covid working patterns
REUTERS
8 June 2021

The five-day office week could become the norm again within two years, a think-tank has said.

A mix of home and office work has become the standard over the last few months as the UK recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the Centre for Cities think tank believe there will be shift back to pre-Covid working patterns for many as restrictions are lifted.

"I expect we will see three or four days a week in the office as the UK recovers," Paul Swinney, director of policy and research at Centre for Cities, told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Wake Up to Money programme.

"Over the longer term, I’m quite hopeful that we will see people return five days a week.

"The reason for that is, one of the benefits of being in the office is having interactions with other people, coming up with new ideas and sharing information.

"If you’re in the office on a Monday but someone else is in the office on a Wednesday, then you’re starting to miss out. Or, if your colleague is in the office and having a meeting with your boss and you’re not there, all of a sudden that changes the dynamic again."

Prime Minister Boris Johnson first revealed his roadmap out of lockdown in February, which included the proposed June 21 date for all remaining restrictions to be eased including limits on the number of people attending events, as well as social distancing and mask-wearing.

However, the rise of the Indian variant and the increase in Covid cases has caused concern and officials are said to be examining the possibility of retaining work from home advice.

Government sources told the Telegraph: "Obviously working from home does have some consequences, but there’s no difference between now and two weeks’ time because the economic support will still be in place.

"There’s not that imperative to change the advice."

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