N early five years on from the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, we are still, somehow, having the same tired yet vehement debate about working from home – albeit with the arguments coming from unexpected camps. This week, it’s the government vs big business in the WFH showdown. In the red corner, Amazon : the corporate behemoth announced that workers must return to the office full-time , five days a week.
In the blue corner, the Labour Party: Jonathan Reynolds , the business secretary, has vowed to end the “culture of presenteeism” , arguing that a default right to flexible working makes employees more loyal, plus “motivated and resilient”. “It does contribute to productivity, it does contribute to [staff] resilience, their ability to stay working for an employer,” Reynolds told The Times . “Good employers understand that their workforce, to keep them motivated and resilient, they do need to judge people on outcomes and not a culture of presenteeism.
” It’s part of a new package of measures and legislation currently being drawn up, described by prime minister Keir Starmer as the biggest overhaul of workers’ rights in a generation. Committed to hitting a deadline of introducing these within 100 days of Labour getting into power, Reynolds nevertheless said implementation may take slightly more time to “get the detail right”. “Flexible working” in this context doesn’t just mean working from home, either; it could mean allowing people to do compres.