UK Edition
Third of young British workers say they expect to work from home after the pandemic
Fear is that town centres will become hollowed out as employees resolve to shun offices and businesses that rely on them close their doors
Almost a third of younger workers intend to ignore ministers’ pleas to return to the workplace and will carry on working from home.
The Government hopes the reopening of schools next month will herald a mass shift in workers going back to their offices, but a study by University College London suggests a large proportion of the workforce may carry on home-working for good.
A separate survey found 50 of the UK’s biggest employers will not ask employees to return to their workplaces full-time.
It suggests ministers may be able to do little to prevent a permanent structural change in the economy, with businesses that rely on office-workers, such as city centre pubs and sandwich bars, among those in peril.
Office buildings could also be repurposed if firms no longer need as much space, with far-reaching consequences for big cities.
The UCL Covid-19 Social Study, which has been monitoring the attitudes of 70,000 people since lockdown began, found that 32 per cent of 30 to 59-year-olds and 29 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds said they planned to work from home more after the pandemic ends.
Those on higher incomes were more likely to express a desire to work from home, while many people on lower incomes, such as drivers and cleaners, have no such choice.
The BBC found that 50 of the UK's biggest employers, ranging from banks to retailers, will not ask staff to return to the office full-time in the near future as it is too difficult to maintain social distancing rules with a large number of people.
Banking and finance companies in particular said they were offering their employees flexibility in how much they attend the workplace.
It came after the world's biggest investment bank, JP Morgan, told staff in London they will be continuing to work remotely on a part-time basis, and Linklaters, one of London’s elite Magic Circle law firms, said employees will be free to work from home for up to half of the week.
Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said predicting the “death of the office” would be premature.
He said: “Cities have repurposed themselves before over decades - the coronavirus has just speeded it up.”
Rob Groves, an office developer at Argent, which has just completed the construction of 120,000 feet of office space in Birmingham's Chamberlain Square, insisted there would always be a need for a workplace where people could congregate and share ideas.
He said: "I'd like to challenge people saying they will never need an office and ask them in 12-18 months time whether that was the right decision or just a reaction to what's happening now."