He could not know it at the time but when Boris Johnson ordered that first lockdown on March 23 2020 he triggered a revolution with profound implications for lifestyles and the economy.
All Covid rules have long since been lifted, but working from home is now hard-wired into the daily working lives of millions of people who seem in no hurry to squeeze themselves back on early-morning commuter trains when they can work from their kitchen tables.
As Alex Veitch, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce puts it, the Covid crisis "turbocharged the switch to a hybrid approach".
Figures from property specialist Remit Consulting show that while numbers coming into offices are slowly rising the national average office occupancy of 34.3% in the week ending January 27 was the highest since the group began tracking the figures last May 2021- there are few signs of a rush back to five days a week "presenteeism".
So is flexible working here for the long term and are offices still important to bosses? To get a snapshot of some of the latest working patterns across Britain, the Evening Standard asked every member of the blue-chip FTSE 100 index how many days on average staff work in the office each week, and if that would change or stay the same this year.
Denne historien er fra February 10, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
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Denne historien er fra February 10, 2023-utgaven av Evening Standard.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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