Working from home may be coming to an end, but is that really a good thing?

Depending on where you sit in a company, WFH is either a good or a bad thing, either you like the money that’s saved or you miss mentoring and socialising, so what do we do, asks Chris Blackhurst

Some firms stated productivity had been just as good, if not better, with homeworking (Getty)

My lawyer friend pulled a face. Working from home is ending, his staff are going back to the office, things will get back to normal. So why the slightly glum expression?

First, he’d got used to being around the house, not having to get up at the crack of dawn and head to the station. He’d seen more of his wife and children these past lockdowns. He did not have to wear a suit, shirt and tie – he could get away with jogging bottoms and a polo shirt. He was around in the evenings.

There was another reason, one he could not possibly put his name to – his firm had saved a ton of money from having everyone WFH. They weren’t paying expenses, there was no client entertaining, no travelling. They did not have to stock the communal kitchen. No one was taking taxis. They weren’t using cleaners as much. They’d managed to secure a rental holiday on some of their premises. Utility bills were also reduced. Overall, he reckoned WFH had trimmed 10 – 15 per cent off the overhead. That money had gone straight to the bottom line, he said with a smile, it had not been passed on to clients.