Calls grow for Shropshire staff to return to workplace
The pressure on businesses to get their workforces back in the office in the wake of the coronavirus crisis has ramped up this week.
A Government ad campaign is encouraging people to stop working from their homes and return to their workplaces.
Employers are being asked to reassure their staff that it is safe to return by highlighting the measures they have taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 within office environments.
It follows concern about the damage that it being done to the economies of city and major town centres with people continuing to stay away from offices because of the pandemic.
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The employers' organisation the Confederation of British Industry has warned city centres could become "ghost towns" if the Prime Minister does not do more to encourage staff back, with businesses relying on passing trade from office workers continuing to suffer.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "What we're saying to people is it is now safe to go back. Your employer should have made arrangements which are appropriate to make sure it is coronavirus-safe to work."
Businesses in Shropshire say home working has worked well, but have admitted to the benefits of returning to the office.
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Brian Evans, managing partner at Lanyon Bowdler Solicitors, said: "Most of our lawyers are still working from home but we have most of our support staff now in the office keeping everything working as smoothly as possible for our clients.
"Home working has worked pretty well for most of us, but our lawyers are increasingly coming into the office when they need to see clients, where that can’t be done remotely.
Flexibility
"We took the decision that we didn’t want to make any changes to the way we have been working before September at the earliest. We’ve just finished a consultation exercise with staff about their views on remote working, and we are working through the results of that at the moment.
"It’s clear, though, that people have missed the social side of work and the ability to learn from observing colleagues. We’ve always tried to give people the flexibility to work from home on occasion, and whilst I think we are likely to see a bit more of that in future, we’re not going to be turning into a 'virtual law firm'; the benefits of being together as a group for at least part of the time are just too important."
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Stuart Haynes, corporate and commercial partner at legal firm Aaron & Partners, said: "We believe it is important that staff return to the office, to some extent.
"While the last few months has shown us that much of the work we do can indeed be done remotely, time in the office with colleagues is important to retain the sense of community within the firm, to share ideas and experience and to mentor and develop individuals.
"The majority of staff have now returned to the office for at least two days a week, though we are carefully managing it so that we adhere to social distancing regulations."
Kirsty Smallman, director at Wellington-based PR agency J&PR Ltd, said they made the decision to close the office at The Glebe Centre the week before the lockdown was officially enforced.
Thankful
She said staff had worked productively and efficiently at home and it had allowed parents to home school and everyone to stay safe, which was the priority.
Mrs Smallman said they had now given the staff the option to return to the office if they wished to do so but would not be enforcing it.
"Our staff have worked extremely hard at home under very difficult circumstances and we are so thankful to them all," she said.
"We have had a number of staff members home schooling young children whilst hosting conference calls and we understand it has been difficult at times.
"Many of our staff members now want to return to the office for their own routine and to enjoy some normality."
Richard Sheehan, chief executive of Shropshire Chamber of Commerce, said: "We've seen through our members a phased return to work and we as a chamber have been no different.
"Members want a team who feel reassured that they are working in a Covid-safe environment and I think employers have been very good at ensuring that.
"We have seen an efficient workforce working from home and going forward I expect there will be a balance of home working and working from an office.
"Clearly other businesses have suffered from a drop in volume of workers not being in an area which has impacted on local spend.
"They will need assurances they will get the volume of customers they need to be able to continue to operate without the need to make redundancies, which nobody wants to see at this difficult time."
Meanwhile, nine in 10 UK employees who have worked from home during lockdown would like to continue in some form, according to a survey.
The research by academics at Cardiff and Southampton universities – which involved thousands of people between April and June – suggests the majority of people working from home are as productive, if not more so.
