Sunday, December 22, 2024

London dragging down UK productivity as office staff work from home

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Adrian Pabst at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said: “There are very few jobs which can be done as well at home as they can be at the office.

“Working zero days from the office, which you can see in the Civil Service, is just not working out.

“There is not the same coordination, not the same interactions and people do not feel as motivated. There are all sorts of things that do not happen when you are in the office.”

London has been more affected by remote working than other parts of the country because it has a large proportion of office workers. 

In late 2022 and early 2023, almost 60pc of all London workers were either entirely at home or hybrid working.

That was far greater than in any other part of the nation, and compared to as little as 36pc in the North West.

In 2022, a survey from the Office for National Statistics revealed that 44pc of businesses in London intended to embed greater levels of home working – which was again more than in any other region. 

However, a follow-up to that questionnaire this month showed the share had fallen to 29pc.

That is still above other parts of the UK but suggests that many companies are moving away from remote working. 

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