How Scotland has become the WFH capital of Britain
THE number of people working from home has soared more in Scotland than any other part of the UK, leading to growing concerns about the economic cost for town centres.
Official figures yesterday showed the number of people working from home in Scotland rose by 544,000, or 204 per cent, compared with pre-pandemic.
The increase is much higher than a 109 per cent rise across the UK as a whole, 102.3 per cent in England, 148 per cent in Wales and 56 per cent in Northern Ireland.
It led to calls for SNP ministers to do more to encourage workers to return to their offices. Murdo Fraser, Covid recovery spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives, said: ‘Struggling businesses across Scotland will be disheartened to see such a vast increase in homeworking in recent years.
‘The gap between Scotland and England is a huge concern for our economic recovery, yet SNP ministers have been too slow to encourage workers to return to offices, which city and town centre businesses rely on for trade. Flexible working does have its benefits, but we need to see the SNP encouraging more employees to be back in the workplace.’
Across the UK, home working more than doubled between the period from October-December 2019 and January-March 2022.
Over the same period, the figure increased from 267,000 to 811,000 in Scotland, which is a 204 per cent increase. The Scottish Government said earlier this year that home working habits which have developed during lockdowns and cutting car use could have a major impact on reducing emissions.
Last month, the Mail revealed only around one in three Scottish Government office desks was set up for staff to use when final Covid restrictions were lifted earlier this year. Stephen Montgomery, a spokesman for the Scottish Hospitality Group, said: ‘Employers see working from home as an opportunity to save money, particularly with the cost-of-living crisis, but the damage that it is causing hospitality and retail is horrendous.
‘We have called for a meeting with the Scottish Government and a joined-up approach to see how we can fix that.’
A spokesman for the Scottish Licensed Trade Association said: ‘We are very concerned that many people continue working from home.
‘We need people to come back into our towns and cities. We are beginning to see that but it is extremely worrying that people are choosing to work from home and switch to that lifestyle.’
James Probert, from the Office for National Statistics, said: ‘There have been considerable shifts in how people work that can impact on services such as transport, retail and hospitality.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘The Scottish Government want Scotland to be a Fair Work Nation by 2025, and flexible and hybrid working is a key part in helping reach this.
‘Employers, workers and representative bodies should work together to agree flexible working arrangements.’
‘Businesses will be disheartened’
HOME-WORkING was always intended as a temporary measure – but for many it has become a way of life.
New figures show the number of people working from home has risen more in scotland than in any other part of the Uk. It’s another blow for cafes, pubs and restaurants after the lockdown years, when many businesses struggled to survive as a result of tough Covid restrictions.
The new statistics we reveal today suggest that for many, working from home is here to stay, and that carries worrying implications for economic growth.
New ways of working were developed as coronavirus kept most of us out of the office, and of course lessons should be learned from that traumatic – and transformative – period. But many of the supposed attractions of permanent homeworking have been overstated.
Getting back to the office carries incalculable benefits for workers and their employers, but so far ministers have been slow to advertise them – and indeed many civil servants continue to work remotely, seemingly on an indefinite basis.
shouldn’t they be leading by example and encouraging more scots to get back to
their desks without delay?