Employees must fight back against end of home working, says Microsoft executive

WORKERS must “actively fight back” against efforts by companies to force them back to the office after the pandemic ushered in an era of home working, a Microsoft executive has said.

Lucy Cooper, head of customer innovation for Europe at the tech behemoth, said that a return to the daily commute would harm women and young people.

It came as Lloyds bank was criticised at its annual meeting by staff unhappy at plans to row back on flexible working.

Microsoft has stuck to a hybrid work model since the pandemic – requiring

‘Flexible and remote working benefits single parents and young people’

staff to be in the office half of the time unless they have special permission – as well as offering employees other perks such as the option of unlimited time off in the United States.

Ms Cooper said: “Flexible and remote working benefits single parents, young people and people who have an atypical work or life environment. We need to be really careful before we disenfranchise those groups.

“We have to actively fight back against the rhetoric we are hearing and try to find a new model to help the remote, flexible, hybrid work environment.”

Ms Cooper, who said this was a personal view, told the Mindgym HR summit in London: “We want to encourage these people to be able to turn up and be as valuable as they possibly can.”

Some tech giants have struggled to encourage staff back to the office. Staff at Amazon and Apple held protests and petitions against mandating employees return at least three days per week.