OPINION
If Labour Party is serious about growth it must insist on one thing from civil service (Image: PA)
It's understandable why a career in the civil service might be an attractive proposition. What with clearly defined pension benefits and greater job security. And of course a greater chance of being able to work from home. That is, to work from a sofa, bed, beach or anywhere else that takes your fancy on a bleak Monday morning.
For while ‘official policy` requires a minimum of 60% office attendance – or should that be compliance – the stats suggest it’s not quite panning out that way.
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Just take a look at average attendance figures from January 2023 and April 2024 for HM Revenue and Customs (49%), Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (51%,). And above all the Home Office (55%.)
Given that our great Government institutions are endorsing such an anti-office/pro-Hob Nob culture, it's no surprise that many don't want jobs that involve the sheer awfulness of getting up, dressed, in the car/on the bus in order to be at a desk with others who have endured the same ordeal.
Never mind that nurses, farmers, refuse collectors, and lollipop men and women don’t enjoy such a luxury.
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Just look at new figures which show that only 10% of young people want to work in the office full time – with the majority admitting they are lazier than their parents.
Never has a revolution bred so much misplaced entitlement.
For it shouldn`t take a crash course in the bleedin` obvious to see the disadvantages of allowing working from home to become the default setting.
Not least in terms of productivity and workplace dynamics. Since the blaze of live conversation, quicksilver problem-solving and spontaneous exchange of ideas is lost. Real people, unlike computer screens, don`t freeze or buffer.
Anyway, how is a real star supposed to shine – even if they do go to the office, if their manager has set up at the kitchen table.
Misunderstandings are also likely to be more frequent with email than in-person discussions. Collaboration is sluggish with the endless wait for a response.
Zoom and Teams are no permanent replacement – often descending into people talking over each other (even with all the `hands up, my turn` gesticulating). So ultimately, working from home is counter-productive. In fact, counter-intuitive.
Meanwhile the impact on the consumer – in the case of civil servants, the taxpayer – is huge. As dealing with someone who is working from home can be painful, time-consuming and frustrating.
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Not least those civil servants handling customer service remotely which may mean limited access to those who can help (in my experience it`s never the first person who answers the phone).
And with fewer in offices, the public – especially those who are not tech-savvy – have fewer options for face-to-face appointments
Anyway, if I`m discussing a sensitive issue with a call-handler working from home, I`m not thrilled at the idea of Phyllis from next door, who may have popped in for a coffee, overhearing my conversation.
Meanwhile the negative impact of the `WFH` revolution is bleeding down the generations. Only yesterday, Sir Martyn Oliver, HM Chief Inspector of Education, Children's Services and Skills, declared that parents who work from home are contributing to poor attendance rates because their children feel going to school is optional.
Yet so entrenched is the sense of entitlement that even though a study by Reed has shown bosses are more likely to give pay rises and promotions to employees who go into the office, 29% of 2,000 workers polled rejected the idea that going in meant greater chance of promotion.
This isn`t to say that there shouldn`t be some flexibility in the workplace – ie starting later and finishing later where possible if there are issues with the school run.
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But broadly speaking, if this Labour Government is serious about growth then it is time to introduce legislation which allows for companies to insist on working from the office. And that includes its civil servants.
We have to smash the view that working from home is a right of passage for delicate flowers or an easy option for lazy parents who can’t be bothered taking their kids to school.
I am happy to get round the table and discuss with anyone who disagrees – so long as you can drag yourself away from the duvet first.