The Bank of England will ask staff to come into the office at least one day a week from September as U.K. companies plot the return of workers following plans to relax guidance to stay at home.
Employees at the central bank will be expected to organize regular “team days” in the office, Chief Operating Officer Joanna Place said in a speech. The return to office schedule was delayed beyond the government’s July 19 re-opening date to allow for more staff to be vaccinated and for the summer holidays.
“My own personal view is that the pull of the office might be a bit bigger than we anticipate,” Place said in a speech. The bank currently expects that staff will choose to work in the office around three to four days a week.
The Bank of England is among other employers in finance sketching out such hybrid policies combining work in the office and a home. Social distancing rules since the start of the pandemic in early 2020 made normal office-working almost impossible. Wiht restrictions due to be scrapped, commercial banks including Standard Chartered Plc have already declared their workers will be able to continue at least some home-working permanently.
The BOE also said:
- The bank will adapt their buildings to ease the shift to “hybrid” meetings with some staff at home and others in the office
- The return-to-work plan was still considered a trial, with a hybrid format potentially offering more difficulties than all staff working remotely
- Working from home had some positives, with virtual meetings removing “some of the perceived hierarchy” of a physical room with a limited number of tables and chairs
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