Posted 10 Dec. 2022 at 04:13 PM
“The UK’s competitiveness is crumbling under the dictate of flexible working. The observation is without concession, and it emanates from the second fortune of the United Kingdom. In a column published by “The Times”, the eponymous owner of the brand of household appliances James Dyson considered that the reinforcement of the flexibility of work wanted by the British government is “self-destructive” for the United Kingdom.
Teleworking has become widespread since the Covid-19 pandemic. Wanting to go further, the British government plans to increase flexibility at work, in particular to help employees “to reconcile their work and their personal life” in particular those who “take care of children or vulnerable people”.
According to the reform carried out by the British executive, employees will be able to request easier access to telework, but also to jobs shared between several employees or with flexible hours. Employers will not be forced to agree, but they will be required to explore the options available with their employees.
Less competitiveness or more skills?
However, for James Dyson, working from home “prevents the face-to-face collaboration and training we need to develop new technologies and maintain our competitiveness”. “There is no reason to further complicate the law: companies for which teleworking is suitable can already offer it if they wish”, he further specifies.
The statements come as many businesses, particularly in Britain’s powerful financial sector, struggle to bring their workers back to their premises. “Managers of many large companies ask employees to come to the office a certain number of days a week, (but) in practice they are ignored”, according to a study published at the end of November by the London School of Economics (LSE) and the Women in Banking and Finance organization.
“Companies taking a ‘work from home first’ approach […] are those who can attract and retain the most diverse talents, especially women,” notes Grace Lordan, author of the study. Those “who require their employees to be in the office for no reason will lose” skills, she added. And the debate has only just begun.
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