The United Kingdom has emerged as the working from home capital of Europe, with British employees spending an average of 1.5 days per week working remotely from their study, dining

table, or patio. This figure has raised concerns among some Tory MPs who fear that extensive remote work is negatively impacting the country's productivity.

Comparatively, Germany, Europe's largest economy, experiences an average of one day of remote work per week, while the French spend 0.6 days working from home. This means that a Londoner is nearly three times more likely to be working from their settee with tea and toast compared to a Parisian working with a coffee and croissant on the chaise longue.

Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, the former business secretary, expressed worry over the country's productivity record, especially in the public sector, attributing it partly to the extensive remote work culture. Others, such as Charlie Mullins, founder of Pimlico Plumbers, have raised concerns about the potential damage to the economy, especially for new companies trying to establish themselves and for training the next generation of workers.

According to figures compiled by Germany's Ifo Institute, only Canada had longer average remote work days than the UK, with employees spending 1.7 days working from home. The United States, the world's largest economy, was close behind the UK with an average of 1.4 days of remote work.

Critics argue that excessive remote work has become an indulgence and may be negatively impacting training and productivity in various industries, including the civil service. They call for a return to the office as the default setting for work.

The survey, conducted in April and May 2023, included responses from 42,400 full-time employees, with 2,500 of those responses coming from the UK. Workers appreciated the time and money saved by working from home but acknowledged the importance of office-based work for colleague interactions and maintaining a clear separation between work and personal life.

Recent statements from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt advocate for a shift back to office-based work as the default approach, highlighting the ongoing debate over the future of remote work in the UK. Photo by Phil Whitehouse, Wikimedia commons.