The returner

Hugh Adams, 62, works for the charity Brain Tumour Research, in Milton Keynes. Although he has the option to work up to two days a week from home, he prefers to spend 25 minutes driving into the office every day.

“I was the first to put my hand up and say I’ll come back to the office, after working from home during lockdown. I’ve always felt I’m more productive in the office,” he said.

He could focus more easily in an office environment, he said. “Everything around me – the people I see, the stuff that’s on my desk – signifies work to me, whereas at home, all of the things around me signify other things.”

“I think it’s much easier to separate home life and work life when you work in an office and the commute has an important part to play in that. It helps me to get ready for work and it helps me decompress afterwards.”

In lockdown, he would often find himself going back to his home office to work after dinner. “I don’t do that now.”

He is the only person in his office who chooses to come in five days a week. “I really value working with colleagues face-to-face, when they’re here. I think it’s a much more effective way of working.” On a personal level, he thinks it’s a shame not everyone’s back. “The socialisation side of work is really important to me and I think it’s important generally.”

The hybrid

Mike Allen, 69, is a former charity chief executive from Bracknell who now recruits charity trustees.

“If I had to commute, I wouldn’t still be working. We all have the option to do it or not. It’s a hybrid method of working that is determined by me as an employee.

“It’s a lot easier. Having meetings with potential candidates is a lot easier to do in a well-equipped room from home than in a charity office where there’s noise – I have a slight hearing impairment. I need to look professional because I’m trying to persuade people to volunteer to give up 10 hours a month for a charity.

“We have a weekly video catch-up which is formal, but also a bit of a laugh. We do these quarterly meetings face to face if we want, but not everyone needs to.

“I can say to my charity customers, I will meet you in my office and I go in that day and find a space there. The total flexibility has made all the difference.

“It has actually made it easier to recruit trustees as well. They don’t have to turn up at the charity’s offices in a particular town at 7pm on a wet Monday night. They just dial in. I’ve found it much much easier to find recruits.”

The refusenik

Abbi Barden, 26, works in social media marketing in London. She left her previous job partly because her employers wanted people to come back into the office.

“I’ve been working for a flexible, remote-first company since May 2022 and I would never go back to being in the office. I’ve gained around two hours each day by not commuting. When I was in the office full-time, I would get home and be too tired to do anything. Now I can see friends, I’ve rediscovered hobbies and I have much more energy.

“I am also neurodivergent and I don’t think enough people talk about how ableist office environments can be. I really struggle to concentrate when there is lots of noise happening around me and too much social interaction leads me to feel drained. WFH allows me to control my environment.

“Going into the office is a waste of money. Why would I spend hundreds of pounds a month to be less productive and more tired when I can save that money and do my job at home?”