Lord Sugar blasts PwC for 4.5-day week plans
» BUSINESS tycoon Lord Alan Sugar has criticised PwC after the professional services firm announced plans for shorter working hours over the summer.
From June 1 to the end of August, PwC’s employees will be able to condense their working week to finish at lunchtime on Fridays. The summer working hours were piloted by the company in 2021 as part of its hybrid working policy.
The firm’s approach to hybrid working also includes flexible bank holidays, allowing staff to take up to two bank holidays at a time that suits them.
According to a PwC survey of 6,000 staff, more than 90% said they thought the policy of summer working hours was a good idea; 73% said it positively impacted their general wellbeing; and 93% said it positively impacted their day-to-day working experience throughout July and August.
But The Apprentice‘s Lord Sugar has slammed the company. Writing on Twitter, he wrote: “Call me old fashioned but all this work from home BS is a total joke. There is no way people work as hard or productive as when they had to turn up at a work location. The pandemic has had long lasting negative effect.”
Kevin Ellis, chairman and senior partner at PwC UK, said: “We knew summer working hours would be popular with our people, but the positive impact on wellbeing surpassed expectations. Not everyone could take every Friday, but they benefited from less email traffic when they did and a chance to switch off properly.
“We’ve had another exceptionally busy year and as we approach the summer holiday period, we hope our policy gives people more time for themselves, their friends and their families.”
The issue of flexible working has divided opinion since Covid restrictions were lifted completely in February.
North East Somerset MP Jacob Rees-Mogg was recently slammed after he left controversial notes on the desks of civil servants in an effort to stop them working from home. The notes said: “Sorry you were out when I visited. I look forward to seeing you in the office very soon.”