Chancellor Rishi Sunak said young people should go back to work in the office because it will be “really beneficial” for their career development.
He said that during his early time at work he built relationships in a way that would not have been possible via Zoom or Skype, with people that he remained in touch with over the years.
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“The mentors I found when I first started my job I still talk to and they have been helpful to me even after we have gone in different ways,” the Chancellor said in an interview with LinkedIn News.
“That’s why I think for young people in particular being able to physically be in an office is valuable.”
“We’ve kind of stopped saying that people should actively work from home and have now left it up to businesses to figure out the right approach. In terms of a return to work . . . in keeping with everything else that we are doing it’s been gradual, it’s cautious, it’s careful, so there will be a gradual return back to the offices.”
Now that all restrictions have ended in England, the government has scrapped the formal advice to work from home and is recommending a gradual return to the office.
Many companies have been cautious and have called staff back only a few days per week or leaving them the choice to work remotely on a permanent basis if they wish to do so.
Others are requiring employees to come back to the workplace, as Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)’s chief executive James Gorman stressed a few weeks ago.
“Make no mistake about it: we do our work inside Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) offices. And that’s where we teach, that’s where our interns learn, that’s how we develop people,” he said at a conference.
“If you want to get paid New York rates, you work in New York. None of this: ‘I’m in Colorado… and getting paid like I’m sitting in New York City.’ Sorry, that doesn’t work.”