RingCentral has responded to comments made by Tony Danker, Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), who has claimed most bosses “secretly” want their employees to return to work in the office.
Danker made the comments on BBC Radio 4’s Political Thinking with Nick Robinson, where he said: “You ask most bosses; everybody secretly wants everyone to come back into the office.
“I just don’t think that’s going to happen overnight. I think we are all coping with this, but we’re going to be talking about this for a few years.”
Since Covid-19 restrictions have eased worldwide, many companies have switched to a hybrid working environment.
RingCentral recently surveyed UK workers to find out how they feel about their working environment, with the majority preferring hybrid work.
Reacting to Danker’s statement, Steve Rafferty, VP International, RingCentral, hit back and highlighted that many workers do prefer hybrid work.
He commented: “The director general of the CBI, Tony Danker, has claimed that most bosses secretly want all staff to return to working in the office.
“Whilst this may be a desired approach for employees in certain sectors, our research, launched last week, revealed 32% of full-time office-based workers would prefer to be in the office just a few days a week.
“Our research has also found that hybrid working has a significant impact on productivity and contributes positively to a work-life balance.
“A fifth (20%) of full-time in-person workers currently feel unmotivated, compared with 17% of hybrid workers, and 58% would change jobs or industries for hybrid or remote work.
“This data is evidence that businesses need to assess how they work, as productivity remains the backbone of the UK economy.”
RingCentral’s research found that almost a quarter (22 per cent) of workers who operate full-time in an office said they feel burned out at work, compared to 15 per cent of hybrid workers.
When discussing productivity and work-life balance, hybrid workers are more likely to say that they feel more productive and have a better work-life balance.
Rafferty added: “As the UK experiences prolonged weakness in productivity, business leaders need to ensure they are doing everything they can to maximise output, given the uncertain economic forecast.
“With 10% of the workforce currently feeling unproductive, businesses should consider anything that has the potential to improve workforce productivity.”
Danker’s Statement Could be True
The CBI claims to speak for around 190,000 UK businesses, so there could be some weight behind Danker’s statement that business leaders want employees back in the office full-time.
Speaking in the interview with the BBC, Danker stated that the “whole world of work” had “gone crazy” since the pandemic.
A recent study by the University of Nottingham and The Access Group stated that hybrid work could harm the prospects of young and low-salaried UK workers.
The study set out the pros and cons of hybrid working, with some workers improving their mental health while others said they found it more challenging to switch off at home compared to the office.
Researchers found that the youngest respondents reported lower levels of well-being than any other age category. The survey said under-20s ranked 9.7 per cent lower for well-being than those aged 21-30.
The youngest age bracket was also ranked ten per cent lower than people in the 31-40 and 41-50 age brackets.
The study also found that engagement within a hybrid working environment is lower among young employees, with under-2os reporting 17 per cent less attention than the 21-30 age bracket and 18 per cent lower than the 31-40 and 41-50 age brackets.
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