British Prime Minister Boris Johnson predicted that employees will return to their offices within a few months, rejecting the idea that the closure caused by the outbreak of Corona will lead to a permanent shift towards working from home.
Speaking at a railway industry conference, the prime minister stressed that he is confident that workers will return to traditional work patterns when the lockdown restrictions are eased.
He said: "I know that some people may imagine that all conferences will be this way, or held via Zoom, Teams, or whatever you have, and we have to prepare for a new era in which people do not move, do things from a distance, that is no longer moving."
He added: "In a few short months, if everything goes as planned, we in the UK will reopen our economy, and then, believe me, the British people will be preoccupied again with their desire for a real face-to-face meeting that makes a big difference to the deal or whatever".
The government is expected to direct people to continue working remotely until June 21, when the restrictions of the wider lockdown are set to expire.
The head of Britain's rail network said the epidemic had accelerated current changes in commuting patterns, adding that seasonal ticket sales had fallen dramatically even before the coronavirus hit the UK.
Earlier this week, Goldman Sachs chairman also dismissed the notion that working from home would become the "new normal", describing it as a "anomaly."
With less than 10% of Goldman Sachs employees in office throughout 2020, David Solomon said remote work does not fit the bank's work culture.
However, other companies including Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter have announced that their employees will have the option to permanently work from home.
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, less than half of UK adults traveled for work in the week ending February 7. About 47% went to work, either daily or in combination with telecommuting, and 36% worked from home.
Comments
Post a Comment