Retirees are far more likely to think Brits should be returning to the office
More retirees than any other age group in Britain believe workers should be returning to the office as coronavirus lockdown measures continues to ease.
A survey conducted by YouGov revealed that those over the age of 65 are more likely to think businesses should be encouraging employees to return to office working rather than working from home.
In a daily poll, almost 2,600 Britons were asked ‘Do you think businesses where staff have been working from home during the coronavirus pandemic should or should not be encouraging staff to return to the office?’
A third of respondents (31%) said bosses should be encouraging them to return to the office and 44% of those people were aged over 65, with just 25% in the 25-49 age group agreeing.
On Friday the UK government was accused of trying to “frighten” women with caring responsibilities back into workplaces, after a minister reportedly warned remote workers were more at risk of losing their jobs.
Overall, almost half of those asked (47%) believed that workers should not be returning to offices. More than half (54%) of these were under 25, and just 35% over 65.
The government is set to ramp up its back-to-work messaging with a new campaign next week, mainly through regional and local media.
The campaign will argue going back to workplaces is safe and good for workers’ mental health, despite widespread fears over virus risks, particularly on public transport.
On 17 July, Boris Johnson announced that from 1 August blanket advice for people in England to work from home where possible would be dropped.
On Thursay, the number of new COVID-19 infections in the UK reached its highest rate since June.
A total of 41,477 people had died in the UK within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 as of Thursday, an increase of 12 on the day before.
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