£2,444 warning issued to anyone who still works from home

People who work from home are being ordered to head back into offices by some of the biggest companies in the UK. Amazon has demanded the return to the office five days a week, effective from 2 January, in a memo to staff members. The chief executive, Andy Jassy, argues there are “significant” advantages to face-to-face working.

Goldman Sachs, Boots and Barclays have also made the move to entice staff back into the office, while the likes of Manchester United FC have also made the move. Research by VirginMedia O2 suggests only a minority – four in 10 firms – demand staff are at their desks five days a week. But a KPMG survey of UK chief executives published on Wednesday reporting that 83 per cent elieve there will be a return to pre Covid ways of working within the next three years.



That is up from 64 per cent a year ago. READ MORE UK set for -4C snow blast with five parts of country 'worst hit' Bionic research has discovered that the average week working from home costs £47.07, with combined energy, water and WiFi costs - working out at £2,444 per annum.

Goldman Sachs has highlighted academic studies over the past decade on working from home. Remote working can impact productivity but there isn't a consensus over how much, with studies saying the impact can range from a decrease of 19 per cent to uptick in 13 per cent. The latest surveys from the Office for National Statistics show more than 20 per cent of businesses use, or intend to use, increased home working as a permanent model, a share that has been steadily rising over time.

“We therefore doubt the Amazon announcement will be the start of a trend,” says Matthew Pointon, an economist at the consultancy Capital Economics. “Indeed, moving to a full-time office model would not even be possible for firms that have already downsized their office space, such as HSBC and Clifford Chance.” London residents reported the highest levels of hybrid working across Great Britain, with 4 in 10 workers both working from home and travelling to work.

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