Christina says it is a “logistical nightmare” working out the school and nursery runs after being ordered to return to the office for three days a week from January. “It didn’t come as a surprise but it was devastating,” she says.
The 34-year-old chartered accountant from Scotland was told by her employer that office attendance would be “strictly enforced” in the new year with days potentially increasing based on business need. Her husband, who works in finance, was already working three days in the office after it was mandated in October.
Christina is one of scores of people who shared with the Guardian how they felt about bosses reducing the time they spend working from home. Some large businesses have been calling workers to return to their desks as much as five days a week with Asda planning to “cut hybrid working as part of a business restructure”.
Travelling an hour each way on the train, Christina is concerned about the increased cost of commuting, which she expects will be about £6,000 a year for the couple – roughly three months’ worth of one of their salaries. “We’re going to struggle financially,” she says. “It’s not like our employers are going to give us a pay rise to cover the additional costs.”
Working remotely gives the couple the flexibility to drop their children off and then work through lunch or in the evening after the children have gone to bed. As the lower earner, Christina is considering working part-time. “We chose to have a family to spend time together as one, not to have them raised by strangers,” she says.
With their third child on the way, the couple plan on spending their parental leave to explore remote working opportunities including moving to Denmark or Finland where they feel they would be better supported as a working family. “I think the return to the office works against parents who work, and mothers in particular will suffer by either reducing their hours or staying at home. I feel penalised as a woman for wanting to have a career and a family.”
‘People should have the choice’
For others such as Kerstin, a 59-year-old Age UK worker from Cornwall, the change cannot come soon enough. She is looking forward to more time face to face with colleagues after feeling disconnected working at home. “I’ve suffered from depression and crave company – I ended up getting a radio just to hear other voices,” she says.
Her work involves taking calls and is flexible because of her team living rurally across the county, but they would prefer to meet in person more. “There is a lot of camaraderie and in the office we are able to support each other after a particularly difficult or harrowing call,” she says. “Doing this via Microsoft Teams is not quite the same.”
Kerstin understands that not everyone feels the same and that it has become harder financially for some people to work in the office regularly. “In my opinion, people should have the choice to work from home if it suits them better,” she says.
‘I can’t cope with the isolation of working from home’
Richmond, a 61-year-old software engineer from Oxfordshire, left his remote working-only job in November because his mental health started to suffer during the Covid lockdown.
“I can’t cope with the isolation of working from home,” he says. “It’s often assumed that people in roles like mine prefer it but the office has always been the mainstay of my social life.”
Richmond says he is less productive working remotely because there are more distractions at home. “No one size fits all and every business should have flexible working, but core employees need to have a physical base and it should be an enjoyable experience to go in,” he adds.
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‘It’s enough for me to consider looking for other jobs’
For John, who works as a digital designer in London, working in the office can be “incredibly disruptive”.
When the 34-year-old started his job during the pandemic the policy was to work from home. Over time people have been encouraged to work in the office once a week, but from January they are expected to be in on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. He says mandating attendance feels like a “betrayal of autonomy”.
John feels the return to the office is part of a wider trend post-Covid and that employers believe people will be more productive meeting in person. “My department has just moved into a new office space which cost a lot – I suspect that’s another reason they want us in,” he says.
As a designer, John says working in an open-plan office where he does not have access to dedicated equipment will adversely affect his productivity. “I use a second screen for my job and it requires getting into a creative flow for which I need consistent surroundings, a quiet workspace and time alone. The small talk [in the office] is incessant and completely distracting and if you wear headphones in order to focus, you’re treated as though you are being antisocial.”
John is far from alone in his opposition to office working. In November, the Guardian revealed that some staff at Starling Bank had resigned after its chief executive demanded they return to their desks for a minimum of 10 days each month.
“It feels like an arbitrary decision and a management box-ticking exercise,” John says. “I don’t think it will increase productivity and will just encourage presenteeism. It’s enough for me to consider looking for other jobs.”
* Some names have been changed.
