Feature
David Thomas
The great office debate – why business leaders shouldn’t write off the office just yet
The second wave of COVID-19 may mean a return to homeworking for many, but that shouldn’t stop business leaders planning for a return to the office, as David Thomas, partner at property consultancy Vail Williams LLP, discusses.
We know from the latest transport data¹ from the ONS that people, predominantly outside London, have slowly returned to work in recent months, in search for those ‘water cooler’ moments to spark innovation and progress.² However, as the second COVID-19 wave began to rise, the Government once again encouraged people to work from home³, and when they can.
PICTURED: A visual representation of home versus office effectiveness by David Thomas.
For those able to work productively and in an appropriately comfortable environment, this news may be welcome, but for others who do not enjoy the same experience, the announcement will be met with a sense of frustration. This will be particularly true for those businesses who have so carefully prepared for a safe return to the office in recent months.
Throughout this time, the debate surrounding the return to the office has become surprisingly polarised and politicised, focusing on two core facets – our ability to be productive from home and the lack of innovation and collaboration that results from not being in the office.
Companies have found themselves torn. On the one hand we have seen some incentivise staff to return in the case of Bloomberg�, whilst others such as Facebook and Twitter do not expect to return until 2021.
A return to the office, to one extent or another, will happen. So, when considering the great debate of whether to work from home or commit to a wholesale return to the office in the longer term, what should business leaders consider?
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