Former Asda and M&S boss Lord Rose: WFH is ‘not doing proper work’
The increase in home work has created a generation who are “not doing proper work,” according to the former boss of Asda and Marks & Spencer.
Speaking to BBC Panorama, Lord Rose said more working from home was a part of the UK economy’s “general decline” and that productivity was suffering as a result.
“We have regressed in this country in terms of working practices, productivity and in terms of the country’s wellbeing, I think, by 20 years in the last four,” he said.
Rose, a Conservative life peer, enjoyed an illustrious career in the retail sector, which included stints as chairman of Ocado and Marks & Spencer, and chief executive of Asda.
His comments come as a number of major firms call workers back into the office amid fears of a slowdown in productivity in the years following the pandemic.
Amazon unveiled a return-to-office policy in September, which requires employees work in the office five days a week from January.
Others companies which have joined the calls include Boots, JP Morgan, Asos and Tesco.
Last year, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found forty per cent of workers in the UK were still logging on from home for at least a part of the week.
Those with a degree were ten times more likely to work in a hybrid arrangement than those with no qualifications.
In December, a snapshot ONS survey found 26 per cent of people said they had been hybrid-working in the last seven days, with some days in the office and some days at home.
Around 13 per cent said they were fully remote, while 41 per cent were fully office-based.
However Joseph Lappin, Partner and Head of Employment at Stewarts, pushed back against Lord Rose’s remarks.
“It seems farfetched to blame the UK’s productivity problems on office workers spending more time working at home, often in quieter and more comfortable working environments than their employer’s office,” he told CityAM.
“Without the distractions and interruptions that many professionals experience when they are in office, it seems obvious that some workers will be more productive when working at home.
“There are also obvious advantages of office working – it will inevitably lead to greater collaboration between colleagues and teams.”