Hybrid working Battle looms as big firms order staff back to their desks

The post-festive return to work in the dark days of January is never easy, but this new year is shaping up to be tougher than usual for British workers.

- Joanna Partridge

Not only must they brave days of severe cold and ice, but many face the end of their post-pandemic hybrid working dream.

Big employers are hauling their teams back to the office, with the retail firm Amazon issuing the strictest mandate, demanding staff attend in person five days a week from yesterday. Such orders are prompting fresh battles between employees and their bosses, who believe workers need to be brought together to foster collaboration, creativity and a sense of belonging.

While the luxury of being able to work remotely is not possible for all jobs, it has increasingly become viewed as a right by staff in the almost five years since Covid lockdowns forced them to carry out their roles from their dining tables, spare bedrooms or garden sheds, with many arguing they are just as productive at home.

While Amazon's return to pre-Covid expectations about attendance makes it something of an outlier, it is not alone in prioritising physical presence. From 1 January, the telecoms company BT is requiring its 50,000 office-based employees across Britain and several other countries to attend three days a week in what it calls a "three together, two wherever" approach. Workers have been warned that office entry and exit data will be used to monitor attendance.

The accountancy firm PwC is curbing remote working; the Spanish-owned bank Santander is formalising attendance for its 10,000 UK staff; the digital bank Starling has ordered staff to the office more regularly; the supermarket chain Asda is requiring three days a week in the office for thousands of workers at its Leeds and Leicester sites.