U.K. presses for return to offices

Working from home hurting walk-in shops

LONDON — The British government is encouraging workers to return to their offices amid concerns that the shift to working from home during the coronavirus pandemic is hurting coffee bars, restaurants and other businesses, leaving city centers virtual “ghost towns.”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Conservative government plans to roll out a media campaign next week that will encourage employers to show staff members what they have done to protect them from COVID-19 and make it safe to return to traditional workplaces.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said Friday this was the right time for many people to return to their offices because their children will be going back to school next week. He also said prolonged isolation from friends and colleagues is taking a toll on workers, particularly young people.

“For many people’s mental health, it is important to return to a safe workplace. So that’s why workplaces are being made COVID secure over the summer, and for a lot of people it will be the right time to return, Shapps told the BBC. “Others, I accept, will carry on in a much more flexible way than they did in the past.”

The Confederation of British Industry has warned that office closures are taking a wide toll on the economy as traffic plunges at shops that rely on walk-in business. That impact was demonstrated Thursday when sandwich shop chain Pret a Manger announced plans to cut about 2,800 jobs around Britain after sales fell 60 percent.

The British government should expand coronavirus testing and highlight efforts to reduce virus transmission on trains and buses to encourage people to return to their offices, the CBI said.

It also argued that bringing workers back into the office is a matter of fairness because many people can’t work from home and young people, in particular, are forced to spend long hours in tiny apartments.

“The costs of office closure are becoming clearer by the day. Some of our busiest city centers resemble ghost towns, missing the usual bustle of passing trade,″ CBI Director General Carolyn Fairbairn said. “This comes at a high price for local businesses, jobs and communities.”

Matt Dunham The Associated Press Most people are working from home and not commuting into central London offices because of the pandemic. The British government is encouraging workers to return.