OUT OF OFFICE

Covid-19 transformed the way we work. But as lockdown memories fade, firms are pushing back against homebased employees. Who will prevail?

- James Tapper

The Office is back. Not just the Ricky Gervais sitcom, which is getting an Australian makeover with a female lead. No: the office is back. Amazon has issued a warning to staff who are not spending at least three days a week in the office. Meta wants its workers to do the same from next month. And if further proof were needed that working from home has officially been replaced by return to office, it was provided by Zoom. The firm, whose revenues jumped 300% during the first year of the pandemic, last week asked employees to come in for at least two days a week.

If only it were so simple for the UK's David Brents. People still like working from home and forcing them to return can have unforeseen repercussions: for instance, research by the CIPD, the association of HR professionals, found that about 4 million people - 12% of employees had changed careers due to a lack of flexible working, and 2 million (6%) had quit in the past year.

Big tech firms are not the only ones insisting on more office time for white-collar workers. Osborne Clarke, the international law firm, has told its staff that they must be in the office three days a week if they want to get a performance bonus, although it later clarified that some staff might have "valid reasons" for not doing so.

Chief executives are very keen to get workers back more often, according to Mark Freebairn, a partner at Odgers Berndtson, an executive search firm. "Among the chief executive community, the majority would want more time in the office at the moment, and when one breaks cover and starts becoming more dictatorial about it, the rest will follow," he said.