Date: 17th June 2021
Author: Peter Hunt
On 15 June, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed an extension of the UK’s current phase-three restrictions caused by an “exponential” rise ininfections due to the Delta variant of COVID-19. Guidelines encouraging people to continue to work from home if possible were due to end on 21 June, but the return to office life will now be delayed by an additional four weeks. This announcement was met with resonating disappointment from the many businesses that have been planning their ‘return to work’ strategies for the better part of a year.
Many people have spent more time at home over the last year than ever before and now find themselves in a comfortable bubble that may not be so easy to leave. The thought of returning to an office environment comes with many other scenarios, such as sitting in traffic or being on crowded public transport, and even the thought of working in close proximity to colleagues and customers again could be daunting. These prospects may cause apprehension in many workers, and it would be unsurprising to see a rise in anxiety for those who have spent weeks mentally preparing themselves to return to work next week and will now be forced to wait another month.
There are, of course, also many professionals who thrive in an office environment and have struggled to work from home, whether due to a lack of childcare, the solitude of living alone, or simply missing the structured work environment provided by an office. These professionals will also be disappointed by Johnson’s announcement as they were most likely waiting in anticipation to return to work and will now have to resign themselves to waiting until 19 July before they can expect to feel a sense of normalcy again.
According to the Office of National Statistics, the percentage of adults who worked from home increased from 27% in 2019 to 37% in 2020. When asked about the changes to their lifestyle, most of these professionals said that their new work-life balance was the most positive aspect, while the challenges of collaboration was the biggest downside.
The ONS statistics also showed that 24% of businesses intend to use increased homeworking as a permanent business model, while others are uncertain of what the future will hold. Of the actual working professionals, however, 85% expected to share their time between their usual place of work and remote working in the future. These figures hint that the majority of people would prefer to continue homeworking in the future, but that perhaps their companies will not be in agreement. The question here is, how will this affect the merge back into a working world without the current restrictions?
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