Why winter return to office working should be welcomed - Eamon Fox

We are now well into autumn and with winter on the horizon, the burning question is – where will everyone be working from?

The prevailing view is that skyrocketing energy bills this winter may well force staff back to the office - reversing the working-from-home pandemic movement.

A recent survey carried out by MoneySupermarket.com found that 14 per cent of workers in the UK are planning to spend more time working in the office when the temperature drops.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

This rises to nearly a quarter (23 per cent) among the 18-24 age group.

Will more people be heading back to office working this winter?Will more people be heading back to office working this winter?
Will more people be heading back to office working this winter?

So the potential financial benefits of returning to the office, even taking into account travel costs, will be a key factor when choosing whether or not to return to the workplace.

Price comparison website Uswitch estimates that home-working households use 25 per cent more electricity and 75 per cent more gas in the winter and estimates that they could have cut their monthly bill by £131 from October by returning to the office.

January is set to see another price cap rise, which would see workers save an average £209 a month by returning to the workplace compared to working from home.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But is this back-to-the-office trend really such bad news? I wonder.

There is a strong argument to suggest that working from home is unhealthy for career progress, for personal wellbeing, for inspiration and team-bonding, for productivity and, most significantly for the UK economy, the future of the embattled high street.

A recent surge in office take-up in central London has resulted in the footfall in the West End returning to 88 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

This turnaround in working practices is tremendous news for many cafes and corner shops, fearful for their future as energy prices soar.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It is also good news for mental health as working from home can be lonely and frustrating, while working in a collegiate atmosphere at work is a catalyst for making and keeping friends.

It’s certainly grim out there, but a return to the office can easily be seen as a shining light amidst the gloom.

The old-fashioned office, where little thought was given to personal space and staff health and wellbeing must be consigned to the dustbin of history.

Offices must now be spacious, comfortable, welcoming and brimming with employee-friendly facilities.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In essence coming to the office must be a pleasure, not a chore.

Thankfully, those building new offices in Leeds have taken this on board. We are blessed with some of the best new and most inspirational offices in the UK.

These buildings point the way to a bright post-pandemic future, which will lead to working from home becoming an occasional and attractive option, rather than a stressful, pressurised necessity.

We owe it to our colleagues, families, businesses, young people and livelihoods to get back to the office as soon as it as safe and reinvigorate our cities before it is too late.

If the current energy crisis has hastened this trend, then so be it.

Eamon Fox is a partner and head of department at the Leeds office of global property consultancy Knight Frank

Related topics: