Boris unwisely condradicts Government’s home working message

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, has scored a bit of an own goal by insinuating that working from home is a ‘skivers’ paradise’, despite reports that most businesses reap many benefits from it, dailymail.co.uk.

His comments were made in relation to workers’ plans for the Olympic Games and sharply contrast the advice that’s been given over the past months. Namely, encouraging businesses to allow staff to work from home in order to avoid traffic congestion and other such anticipated disruption that may result from an influx of visitors to London.

Instead, Mr Johnson claimed that: “We all know that [home working] is basically sitting wondering whether to go down to the fridge to hack off that bit of cheese before checking your emails again. I don’t want to see too many of us doing that.” He encouraged workers in the capital instead to plan their journey via the GetAheadoftheGames website. 

Fortunately, information from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) confirms that the majority of employers do not share this view but see the benefits of offering opportunities to work from home. 96 per cent of employers have a flexible working arrangement in place and 70 per cent have noticed improved retention, motivation and engagement, aol.co.uk reports.

CIPD’s head of public policy, Ben Willmott agreed: “From the employee perspective, flexible working is linked to higher levels of engagement and wellbeing” and that those who make use of this working practice are “more likely to be engaged and less likely to say they are under excessive pressure.”

Last updated by Editor.